Little Bear (James Potter x OC)
by silverluna0524
Summary: Another Black is coming to Hogwarts. No one's sure of her real relation to the other Blacks. She just is. Their family tree is confusing anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Well, James Potter thought it didn't matter and said that she didn't matter, for the sake of his best mate, until he finally met her. James Potter x OC!Black
1. Chp 1 : Another Black

'I'm finally going,' Polly thought, 'I'm finally going to Hogwarts.' She's never been to any Wizarding School before. And her heart soared at the thought of finally attending one.

Her cousins, her parents, and most of her relatives all have gone to Hogwarts when they were 11. She had gotten her own letter yet she wasn't allowed to go. Not by her mother.

"Polaris," that was her real name and her mother had called her.

"Yes, Mother?"

"Remember, child. If you are not sorted into Slytherin- "

Polly cut her off, "I'd be an embarrassment to the Noble House of Blacks." She had been told this again and again. It started to lose it's meaning. And she started to not care about being sorted into any house at all.

Mrs. Black gave a sigh of disapproval. Polly would sometimes cut people off like than and her mother doesn't like it. She didn't grow up with her. Polly was sent away to a family friend, Mrs. Amelia Pitch, for home schooling. And was taught quite differently from what her mother really wanted. But it was necessary for her secret, special powers.

"Then you should be disowned immediately. Thrown out to the streets to live with those filthy muggles, where you'll starve to death. And then bye-bye to little Polly," Bellatrix chimed in.

Bella had graduated a few years ago and had come to see her off, for what she called 'encouragement'. She was not Polly's favorite relative, but she enjoyed her presence none the less. Her quirk for being maniacal may be terrifying for others but was comfortingly familiar to little Polaris.

Mrs. Black stared at her with her usual cold eyes. "I agree with Bellatrix, Polaris. You're 15 now. You should know and own your responsibilities," she said, "But you wouldn't be disowned. You're own progress with your powers already make me proud. And what would people say? Just don't disappoint me like..." she trailed off.

Polly knew who her mother was thinking of. Andromeda and Sirius. One not sorted into Slytherin but both a disappointment to the whole family.

"I won't, Mother," she said staring back at her. She scarcely see her mother before but now she had to live in their own family's house. Because of the accident... Polaris banned herself from thinking about the horrid event but it kept sneaking into her mind.

It was Mrs. Pitch, or, what others just called her, Amelia. An accident had befallen Polly's teacher and friend. She was told it was an accident but her kind of poisoning was hard to believe to be done because of carelessness. Amelia was an observant, caring, and powerful woman. She acted as Polly's own mama and loved her so. Just a few days before her death, she was visited by cloaked men at night. Polly asked her about it but she was just waved off. "Don't worry 'bout it," Amelia had said.

"It's time," her mother stated after checking the clock. She had thankfully pulled Polly away from the dreadful thoughts she was deeply thinking about. It was time for them to floo to Hogwarts. They had been permitted by Albus Dumbledore to make that trip for a quick drop off for the new student.

"Good luck, Pib," Bella waved as her mother led her to the fireplace.

"Oh, I wish you'd stop calling me that," Polly said annoyed but then she waved back at her with a smirk plastered on her face, "Bye, Trixie." A nickname Bellatrix hated since childhood.

"Hogwarts!" she said quickly yet clearly. Then immediately vanished with a green poof, but not after seeing Bellatrix's peeved look, which clearly said 'you won't get away next time'.

=O=

Her Mother had quickly left after a quick conversation with Dumbledore. Well... it was more of a one sided conversation, with her Mother subtly (well... not really) criticizing the professor and his works and beliefs. She had pridefully told Dumbledore about Polly's own powers and went on and on about how she deserved to be in Slytherin.

It impressed Polly to see the old man so calm during and after one of her mother's ridiculous speeches. She didn't quite trust him though.

It was dinner time at Hogwarts on November 26, 1976. A Friday. Every student she saw from outside the Great Hall seemed to be excited for the weekends. Polly tried to spot her best friends, Regulus Black and Victoria Snow, from the bustle of the crowd but it was no use.

Dumbledore began his speech. Polly didn't like speeches but listened intently anyway.

"We have a new student joining us this year," there were whispers around the room but Dumbledore only raised his hand to hush them all up, "Yes. She would be joining the fifth years and I hope that everyone would welcome her warmly into our school. Please welcome, Miss Polaris Black."

The Great Hall's giant door had swung wider for Polly. All eyes were on her. 'Another Black?' they seem to be whispering. She didn't care for them. Only looking at the front with her head high as she approached the stool with an old tattered hat. 'Let them think whatever they think,' she thought.

Polly turned to look at the whole room then sat on the stool. Everyone with judgement in their eyes. Professor McGonagall then place the Sorting Hat on top of her head. She knew who the professor was from one of Severus' stories, the one who they said is very partial to the Gryffindors, yet Polly didn't quite believe it as much after she saw her.

"Ah! Another Black then," the hat exclaimed inside her head.

"Uhm... Hello?" she thought back.

The tattered laughed. "Almost like your brother but not at all," he said, "Not really Hufflepuff. Possibly Ravenclaw. You've got quite the brains."

"I know," she replied haughtily. The mention of her brother made her annoyed, which seemed to surprised herself aswell.

"Hmm. Got some Gryffindor in you. But also some Slytherin," he rambled on for sometime about her characteristics and behaviors. She was brave yet cunning in what she does. There was a fine line between Gryffindors and Slytherins which no one had noticed, yet their ideals differ so much that the two houses disagreed alot. More than disagreed, if one can't help it. But still.

The stares of the other students started to make her uncomfortable. She realized that no one had been sorted quite as long as she had and was ready to tell the hat off when it suddenly spoke directly to her.

"Well then, young lady, you may be courageous yet your courage comes because of your slyness and cunning tactics. A true born leader like you better be..."

Polly braced herself.

"SLYTHERIN!!"

The whole Slytherin house cheered. None of the other houses did. She had heard that the other houses didn't like Slytherins and it made her frown. When the hat was removed she had spotted her friends, her squad. Regulus and Victoria had stood up. Victoria was waving at her joyously. An expression not all the other houses was used to.

Polly ran up to them with a huge smile and tackled Regulus into a fierce hug. "Reggie!" she exclaimed. "I missed you."

Regulus smiled back. It was a small, reserved smile. But she knew why he was like that at the moment. For his reputation. "Hello, Little Bear." That's what he called her. 'Little Bear'. It was because 'Polaris' is a star that comes from the constellation Ursa Minor which means 'Little Bear'.

Victoria, or Tori, the usually scowling girl with an upturned pig-like nose, grabbed her shoulders then hugged her as fiercely as she had hugged Regulus. "You didn't tell us you were coming," she playfully glared at her when they pulled apart. "What happened, Polly? Did you start to get bored of home schooling with the old witch?"

It was a playful question but Polly's heart ached still. Her friends had seen her grimace a bit and so they didn't ask her anymore questions. They all sat down at their table while ignoring the looks of the other students from the different houses. They weren't used to see the other Slytherins so gleeful, other than when they're beating them up in Quidditch.

There was their whole squad. The 6th years: Severus Snape, the Potions loving half-blood, and Persues "Percy" Parkinson, named after his quite famous ancestor and Tori's boyfriend. The 5th years: Regulus Black, Victoria Snow, and Polaris. The 4th year: Barty Crouch Jr., Regulus' close friend. Then a tag along 1st year, Rabastan Lestrange.

"Rab, shouldn't you be with the other first years?" Polly inquired, "Making acquaintances or friends and stuff?"

"He wanted to see you," Sev rolled his eyes.

"Of course he did," and she was glad. Glad to be with them. Glad to be sorted into Slytherin. And just... glad to be away from her old home.

They laughed and talked about everything and nothing like they used to. To others, they didn't know who she was. But it was obvious she was well known by the Slytherins. And then one by one, people started to turned to Sirius.

=O=

Sirius Black raised his eyebrows when the new girl entered the Great Hall. She was definitely a Black. Definitely. The air around her feels superior, like his own. But she wore it not as playfully as he does.

She looked like Bella, but with the beauty of Cissy. But something kept nudging Sirius that she looked so familiar yet he cannot pin point it. She's a Black. That's for sure. With her lustrous black hair and gray eyes.

"SLYTHERIN!!" the hat had shouted. He wasn't the least bit of shocked at that. But her running toward his brother and giving him a nice, tight hug was what startled him. 'It seems like they've known each other for so long,' Sirius thought.

"Who is she?" James, his best mate, asked, "Polaris Black?"

"Never heard of her," he started, "Definitely not Uncle Alphard's. May be another of Uncle Cygnus'. Or some other Black. Our family's too 'ancient' to know how related someone is to who."

"And it's full of incest?"

Sirius shivered in disgust, "Yeah. That too." He hated that his Mother and Father was so closely related. And that Regulus was not just his brother, but also his third cousin or something. Just for the sake of being pure-blooded, they tainted themselves that way.

Peter nodded in agreement. He always nodded in agreement. "Yeah. And she's a... snake," he whispered.

"That's expected. I'm the special one," Sirius boasted while puffing his chest childishly while pointing at himself proudly.

James rolled his eyes. "And the most modest one too," he sarcastically, patting his best mate at the back.

"Very!" he exclaimed, now cheering up and trying to forget about the new girl. He hated not knowing things he liked to know. James and Peter chuckled at friend.

But Remus was still deep in thought. "A distant relative maybe?"

"Maybe. But I don't care," Sirius waves him off with his hands. James followed, "Yeah. It doesn't matter who she is."

"What I care about is some other important things. Like what me and Prongs have been planning about. It's a prank that will knock all our other pranks of the planet," he swatted his arms around wildly while taking. "Well?" he inquired when Remus looked at him weirdly.

Remus sighed then added in a sing-song voice, "'Prongs and I', Sirius".

Sirius pouted and whined, "Mooonnyyy..." He was the only one who could always make Sirius feel insecure with himself. Though he seldom lets others see how insecure it makes him.

"Yes. Snuffles?" replied Remus innocently.

Sirius scoffs, "That's unacceptable, Mr. Lupin! Anywho..." he started explaining the plan. The prank. There would be a few complications. And it always seems too plain. And as Marauders, they needed something more. More. A big bang to blow everything up.

Peter had kept nodding as Sirius discussed a plan with himself. But James kept looking at the Slytherin's table where most of the usually unpleasant looking ones where delightfully smiling with the beautiful yet mysterious new girl at the center of it all.


	2. Chp 2 : First Meeting

'Ugh! I hate her,' James thought as he crashed into his bed in the Gryffindor dormitory. After another scream fest with the beautiful red-head, Lily Evans, he couldn't take it any more. Every time he asks her out, he just pisses her off. Then he gets pissed off. And it all turns into a blood bath of insults.

"You'll get her next time, mate," Sirius says while looking through his cards. He and Peter where playing Exploding Snap when James entered the room. Remus was no where to be found. He's probably in a prefects meeting.

"No," James growled, "I'm done." He proceeds in banging his head into his pillow while muttering, 'stupid, stupid, stupid'

"Done?" Sirius raised his eyebrow.

"It's obvious she's never going to... like me," he gulped, "After all these years, nothing has changed. All she sees me as is an 'arrogant toe rag'. I thought after what happened with Snivellus last year she'd see that I..." he trailed off remembering the 'mudblood' incident. Remus had lectured him for hours about making Evans loose her friend. Even James admits it was a bloody mess.

"Well... I'm bloody well proud of you, Prongs," Sirius admitted. He turned away from their game to look at his best mate's gloomy face to show that he was listening.

"What?" James asked tiredly while rolling toward where Sirius and Peter where sitting on the floor.

"I mean... come one, Jamie, you've been pining for that lass for years," Sirius inquired.

Peter snorted, "Yeah. For more than 5 years." Sirius nodded in agreement.

"It's clear to me that you've kinda lost interest in the past few months. Right?" James just let out a 'hmmp' as a reply. Sirius continued, "She's not the one for you, mate." James sighed in contemplation. It was true. Evans is a brilliant girl. But she can never be his girl.

"I just want you to be happy with someone you really like... and someone you likes you back," Sirius gave James a meaningful look, "And I'm here for you."

James raised his eyebrow at Sirius, "Well that was..."

"Awkward?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

The two made eye contact for a second then started to burst out laughing. Peter joined along while trying to peak at Sirius' own playing cards. It lasted for a few more minutes, until they ran out of air.

"But siriusly - " Sirius said seriously.

"By siriusly you meant not serious at all?" James grinned while Peter rolled his eyes.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Just-".

"You know, I need to get my mind off things," James said as he cuts of Sirius. He got up with a smile, only his friends would know is fake, and decided, "I'm going to the library."

"The what!!" screamed the other two.

"You're not even allowed there. Only Moony is allowed there," Peter pointed out.

"Come one, Prongs. Are you that desperate to forget Evans? You could play with us," Sirius says as he pointed towards the cards of Exploding Snap he and Peter were playing.

"Nah," he waved off with his hands. "I'm gonna sneak in. We need more info for our next prank. Right?"

"Remus could do it."

Sirius stared at his best friend for a minute. He knew that James must be going through a rough time. Then says, "Alright. Good luck, Prongs," letting him go.

"Thanks. See you guys in a bit," James closed the door behind him and heads down the stairs. A loud 'BOOM' was heard from their dorm. A small smile could be seen from the hazel eyed boy as he exited the Gryffindor Common Room.

=O=

Sneaking into the library was easy enough. It was a Sunday. Two days after the new Black arrived in Hogwarts. There were tons of gossip about her and-. Wait... why was James thinking about her? Anyway, Madam Pince was busy helping some Ravenclaws helping their Hufflepuff friends with their homework.

James wandered for a bit around the massive place. It's not that he's lost, he's just... lost. He hasn't been there for so long. And even if he did go in there, it wasn't for the books. After a few more minutes looking around, he found the shelves he was looking for. And it was at the very corner of the library.

Potions. He hated that subject. Mostly because Snivellus bested everyone in class and he loved it. Sirius would often taunt him in 'playing with his chemistry set'. But the Marauders often use a lot of potion brewing for their more majestic pranks.

James would have preferred something transfiguration themed but a spell as complicated as turning someone into an animal, or partially an animal, requires some potions. He lazily took a book off the shelf and started to scan the contents. Nothing. He was about to put the book back when he saw someone sitting on a table on the other side of the bookshelf. He made a quick eye contact with the stranger but he quickly looked away and placed the book back to cover his face.

"Potter?" a girl's voice asked. It was the new girl. Polaris. She raised her eyebrow at him.

"Um yeah," James awkwardly answered, moving around the shelf and towards her table. He paused for a moment then raised his brow back. "You know me."

Polly rolled her eyes, "Like, you're shocked that you're famous around here." She casually yet quickly tucked the paper she was sketching on into her notebook. James saw it was filled with muggle airplane sketches. "Plus," she added making him look back up at her, "you're all Sev talks about."

"I'm flattered," James blurted. He tried to look suave or at least like he doesn't care that she's heard of him. 'What kinds of rumors did she heard about me?' he thought.

"But my question is, what are you doing here? Reggie says you and Sirius aren't even allowed in the library. I'm guessing you're here for trouble."

"It doesn't concern you, Black," he snapped.

"Oh, of course," Polly looked away to the window beside her table. She went there to escape the chattering Slytherin Common Room. Her control over her powers weren't really tested in a noisy environment. Tori had wanted to give her a proper tour but she preferred to go to some place quiet for now.

She also wanted to draw something and muggle made contraptions isn't really what other Slytherins would appreciate her drawing.

James realized he was a bit rude so he muttered an apology. "Sorry," he said looking at the foor.

"No. It's okay. My bad," she gave him a gentle smile. Her mother would kill her if she found out she was having a conversation with, what she calls, 'blood-traitor'. "I heard about you and Lily Evans-" James snapped his head into her direction, "- which I have no business about. Sorry," she quickly added with her hands up in a way to say 'I know nothing. I'm innocent'.

"You could sit down if you want," she said gesturing to the empty seat opposite her.

"No, thanks."

"Hmm," she contemplated, "So, I'm Polaris Black, but you can call me Polly." Yup, her mother is definitely gonna kill her. 'Polly' was a nickname used only by her friends but now she's telling Potter he can call her that? Merlin's beard.

"James Potter," he said, "but you already knew that." He gave her a smirk. Okay, Padfoot's gonna kill him. 'Are we flirting? Is this flirting? She is pretty,' he mentally slapped himself, 'I need to get out of here. Now.'

"How are you related to Sirius?" Annddd he's still making conversation with the Slytherin. Plus, he's moving closer to the table. Great job, James. He was really curious though.

Polly just shook her head. She didn't want anyone else to know.

"So, Sirius was thinking," he pushed on, "Why you seem so close to his brother."

Polly let out a deep breathe. She shifted to turn directly toward him then she stood up. "I met Regulus the year he was sorted into Slytherin," she says walking towards - no - around him, to the shelf right behind him.

"And since Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor," he pondered while he turned to face her, "he never got to met you?"

Polaris nodded, taking a book from the shelf.

"So, you're like some trophy they get when they are sorted into Slytherin?" his eyebrows furrowed.

She grimaced at his way of wording but nodded anyway. "Yeah. I met most of my relatives when they... Yeah. That's about right." She moved back to her spot at the table with the book in hand. Actually, James would soon realized it was a notebook.

"Why?"

"I'm quoting you earlier, 'It doesn't concern you.'"

"Of course," James smiled a little. He nodded. "I'm probably disturbing you," he realized, "I should get out now before Madam Pince find out I'm here." He turns to leave and was about to start scolding himself. 'Really, James? You're making friends with a Slytherin now?'

"James, wait!" Polly quickly covered her mouth. That was too loud. Her wide eyes turned to look if anyone was around. James turned back with equally wide eyes which turned into a questioning look.

"Yes, Polly?" It was the first time he spoke it. It was the first time she heard him say it. And it sent shivers to her spine. It was hard to ignore but she busied herself in reaching for the notebook she took from the Potions bookshelf.

She handed it to him. "Here," she whispered. "I was supposed to leave it here for other people to find. It's my ideas for..." James took the book and flipped through it. "Pranks?" he said incredulously. The two grinned at each other, mischief clearly written in their eyes. "I didn't know you had it in you, Black."

"I'm not allowed to do them. Mother would kill me," she shook her head as if to shake off the idea. "It's too bad I couldn't do them without people notifying her. And it seems that you were looking for something to use in your prank from the Potions section. So, I was hoping that -"

"The Marauders would bring them to life?" James cut her off. It's funny how close they seem to have gotten because of the subject of pranks.

"Marauders... I like it," Polly grinned, "It's what you call yourselves. Right?"

"The Best Pranksters In The Whole History of Hogwarts," James boasted. He closed the book and turned to look her in the eyes. "Thank you," he says gesturing to it.

"Just don't prank me," she smirked, "See you around?"

"Yeah. See you. Good luck on your first day of classes tomorrow," James waved back as he sneak out of the library, for the first time not thinking about a certain red-head, leaving Polly to ponder on about what had just happened. 'Mother will definitely not be hearing about this,' she thought as she packed up her stuff and left the library.


	3. Chp 3 : Pranksters

"Then stir 4 times, clockwise," Polly instructed Regulus in their Potions class. It was their last period for the day and Polly was already itching to get over it.

She looked around the classroom and saw some pairs arguing, this included her friend Tori who waved at her when they made eye contact. Most were concentrated on their work. But one or two pairs in the corner where were adding ingredients to their potion that were definitely not in the instructions.

Being in a class is definitely different from homeschooling. Plus, potions isn't really her strong suite, but at least Amelia had taught her how to brew that certain potion in the past.

"You know," Polly started as she looked over at the instructions for the Herbicide potion, "I had tried to brew this potion before. I failed the first one. To get rid of the evidence I quickly poured it outside the window," she shook her head with a smile, "Mama was so furious. I had accidentally poured it all over her favorite flowers," she looked up at Regulus, "So, she made me-"

"Why'd you call her that?" Regulus had looked away when he cut her off.

"Who?" she asked startled, "Amelia?"

"Yes. Why'd you call her 'mama'?" he just stared at their potion, "She's not your mother."

Polly turned her body towards him with crossed arms. "She's as good as," she said pointedly, "She took care of me when 'my Mother' send me away."

"She sent you away for a reason. It's for your-"

"I know." It was her turn to cut him off. "Now hush," she waved her hand to him as she looked at their brew, "Is it done?"

Regulus waves his wand one last time then nods. Polly realized that she's almost helpless at Potions. And if it weren't for his help, she'd failed every brew she made. And it's true what most people said, that they really are better at working together. But against each other? That's a different story.

Professor Slughorn, their Potions teacher, walked towards their table after Regulus waved him over. "If it isn't the Black duos. What have you for me today?" he then proceeds to quickly inspect their potion. "How was your first day in Hogwarts, Ms. Black?"

"It's not over yet, Professor," she said.

"Of course. Of course," he nodded, while pouring a bit of their Herbicide onto a small plant. The plant died in an instant and Euuugghhh! the smell was horrible.

"That's horrid," Regulus said as he tried to not breath in the fumes, "And to think, you poured a pot full into Mrs. Pitch's garden." He was smiling now. Polly realized that he's trying to break the ice between them, so she smiled back.

"Outstanding!" their Professor clapped, "Ms. Black, you really are as good at Potions as young Regulus over here."

Polly tried not to wince at that. "I'm really not, sir."

"Don't be so modest, child. I have this special club called the Slug Club and you should-"

"Professor," Regulus casually cuts him off, "Rosier and his partner seem to be done with their potion," he motioned towards the pair who were impatiently waiting for their turn.

"Of course. Thank you, m'boy." He left them soon enough.

Polly turned to Regulus and gave a dramatic sigh, "Thanks. That was close."

"Slug Club. Decent but... not that decent," Regulus smirked.

"Don't let him hear you." The two laughed as they packed up their bags, ready to leave the moment they're dismissed.

Polly reached for his hand and gave it a soft squeeze, "But for real, thank you, Reggie." He squeezed back then gave her a playful nudge, "Any time, Pib. But you owe me."

She rolled her eyes, "I hate 'Pib'. I never get to call you 'Rab', cus' that's Rabastan."

"Come on. You love it. P.I.B." he whispered quietly. This was the playful side Regulus never lets anyone see. 'Pib' came from her initials. She disliked 'Pib' as much as she disliked her middle name. It's always endearing to hear Reggie say it. But she still hates it.

Professor Slughorn made a quick announcement about no homework that day and then dismissed the class. But he made the pairs who were messing around stay, probably for detention. 'Good luck scrubbing those disgusting pots,' almost everybody thought.

"See you later, Reggie," Polly said as they left the classroom.

"Okay. Where are you going?" he asked suspiciously.

"The library," she replied in an 'obviously' tone, "I want to read something before dinner." Regulus shook his head. That's another thing they had in common, their love for books.

"You want me to take your bag to the Common Room?" he offered.

"Thanks," she sighed as she handed him her bag then gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, "You're the best." She quickly ran towards the way to the library. Even though it was true that she wanted to read a book, her reasons for going is entirely different. And it involves a certain hazel-eyed boy.

O=

James Potter was ecstatic. The prank notes Polaris had given him had contained the perfect spell for their own prank, plus hundreds more. He wanted to see her again. He thought it out and decided that it didn't matter that she was a Slytherin. But the thought that she was a Black still bothered him. His best mate would murder him if he found out.

James had 'subtly' asked Remus for advise if it was alright to be friends with someone from a different house. Needless to say, the werewolf was suspicious, and that's putting it lightly.

"Leave the boy alone, Moony," Sirius had said, "It looks like our James-y has found a new bird."

After classes, he basically ran to the library. He really wanted to see her again. Hopefully, she was at the same spot.

And she was.

Polly had picked a book to read. She would have waited for him until dinner. If he ever came, that is.

James rubbed his neck and walked towards her when she waved at him. "Um... hi."

"Hello, James," she says closing her book.

"I thought I might find you here."

"You're looking for me now, Potter?" she smirked. It was like she was teasing herself as well since she was looking for him too but whatever. There was a slight blush forming on her cheeks which she forced down.

"I read your whole book last night," he said and it was rare for him to stay up late reading something, "I realized you also made-up some of your own spells. Mostly for pranking," he praised. He gestured to the seat across her as if to ask permission to sit with her.

"Dedicated much?" she teased as he sat down.

"Well, what can I say," James says smiled brightly, "A prankster devoted to his work is... um..." he trailed of thinking.

Polly giggled, "Is a prankster at heart? And a fan of Polly Black?"

"Ha-ha, very funny," he rolled his eyes but smiled anyway, "Okay. I admit you're pretty awesome," he widened his eyes when he heard himself say that but relaxed when he saw her smile widen.

"You won't believe how great our next pranks are gonna be," he continued. Something in Polly wanted to ask him if she could join them but it would be bad. For both sides. Her heart warmed, anyway, at the thought of her ideas are turning into reality because of these mischievous band of boys.

"Just don't prank me," she repeated what she said last time.

James gave a 'Hmmp' then pouted with a playful accusatory look. And they both cracked up laughing. It was a soft laugh, so that they won't get caught, but it was obvious that they were dying inside. It was a laugh you couldn't contain but you try anyway and it hurts.

"Did you tell your friends it was mine?" she asks as they calmed down, wanting to know if the other Marauders knew the book came from her. She didn't want them to, not yet. She wanted it to be her and James' little secret.

He shook his head, "I didn't think you'd want me to. I haven't shown it to them. I just said I read in somewhere," He was worried he might have offended her but he saw her let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Why?"

"I didn't think you'd want to keep secrets from them."

"It's fine," he waved off, "All they think is that I found another bird, other than Evans."

"Did you?" Polly leaned on the table towards him. She was teasing him but she really wanted to know how he thought of her. 'Or some other chick,' she scolded herself.

James blushed. It was another rare thing to see him do. He regained his composure and said, "What if I did?" It was Polly's turn to blush.

When saw she was uncomfortable he quickly change the topic. "So, you're taking your OWLs this year," Polly nodded in response. "Do you want me to help you study?" 'Okay, Jamie boy, that's laying it on, thick. Too thick,' he face-palmed himself in his head.

"You want to help me?" she said uncertainly. Amelia's lessons where sometimes more advanced than what they teach in school, so she though her OWLs would go smoothly with a bit of review. But, ironically, she had always had trouble studying by herself.

"I'm not the best it class," James said rubbing his neck, "but I could help you with what I can. But if you don't want to, it's fine," he quickly added.

"No. I'd love that," she smiled, "I hate studying alone, anyway."

They talked until dinner time about their likes and dislikes, the Marauder's great pranks and adventures, Polly not having ridden a broomstick ever, and a bunch of other things. When they checked Polly's watch, it was almost time for the feast.

"Just don't touch your goblet at dinner," he winked as he left the library, sneaking pass the strict librarian of Hogwarts.

Madam Pince had spotted her leaving. "It's dinner time. You better go quickly before the feast starts," she basically shoved Polly out of the library then dragged her to the Great Hall. 'It must've been a hard day for her, if she wanted to go eat dinner this badly,' Polly thought as she tried to keep up with the librarian, 'I had a long day too.' Her stomach grumbled.

O=

"Don't touch your goblet', he said,' Poly was staring at her drink intensely. She looked up and saw James looking at her from the Gryffindor table, shaking his head a bit. Then he turned back to his friends.

She was very cautious when she sat at their table. She had to stop Regulus from picking up his goblet, once. He had raised an eye brow at her but had let it go.

'Touch. Not just drink from. Don't touch,' she pondered for a bit then realized, 'Oh shoot!'

He read about her spell that enchants objects and when touched, the person will-

"AAHHH!" a piercing scream echoed around the great hall. Followed by another, and another, and another, until half of the Slytherin table was filled with glittery skinned students trying to scratch the itchy glitter off. The screams where followed by joyous laughter from the other houses. Polly had to bite her cheek to prevent herself from laughing along.

The glitter stuck to their skin wasn't just Gryffindor themed but it was designed to paint their faces like a glittery lion mask. Severus, Tori, and Rabastan were affected, as well. Polly felt sorry for not warning them. They had to miss the whole week if they plan to not attend classes as a glittery lion.

"Go, go, Gryffindor," the Gryffindors cheered loudly again and again, until the furious face of Professor McGonagall stormed towards the Marauders who were falling from their seats laughing. "POTTER, BLACK, LUPIN, PETTIGREW," she yelled over the commotion, "DETENTION!" The pranksters seem to not care, so they carried out laughing.

Polly ignored the look on Reggie's face. He knew it was her spell. But she was too ecstatic, from seeing her own imagination come to life, to care what he thinks. 'Thank you, James.'


	4. Chp 4 : In the Library

James and Polly have been meeting with each other everyday for the last two weeks. Well, except for when James had detention and last Monday, which may or may not have been a full moon. But of course, his multiple absences didn't go unnoticed by the other Marauders.

"If this chick's planning to steal you away from us, I think Evans is the better choice, mate," Sirius said as he blocked the door of their dorm room with crossed his arms. He gave James a mock betrayed look, which James would have laughed at if the others weren't giving him grave expressions.

"Yeah," Peter pouted, "You barely hang out with us anymore, I mean... besides pranking. We never get to have an 'us' time anymore." They were cornering James now, blocking the door.

"'Us' time?" James grinned.

"You know what I mean."

"Look, guys, I'm not going out with anybody," James sighed, emphasizing 'going out'. The others raised their eyebrows at this.

"You're not?" James nodded at Remus' question. "Then where are you sneaking off to, Prongs?"

"At..." the rest leaned in in anticipation, "the library." James' face flushed because he thought of Polly but others may have thought it was because of embarrassment. He casually checked the clock beside Remus' bed. 'She's waiting for me,' he thought.

At the mention of the library, Sirius and Peter burst out laughing. "Nice one, James, you nearly got me there." "The library? No way!" But Remus remained suspicious. He looked once again at James. Something is different about his friend yet he can't pin point what has changed.

Remus replied in an uncertain tone, "The library? Really, James. Where are you-"

"The library," James cut him off, "I swear." The three started to open their mouths again but James beat them to it. "I'm researching for new ideas for pranks. Remember the one we did a few weeks back?"

"Yes, but Moony's usually the one doing the researching," Sirius pointed out while placing a hand on Remus' shoulder.

"I know," James nodded, "And he's been so stress lately because of prefects duty and school work. I just wanted to lighten his load." That was kind-of part of the truth, so James went on with it. Remus' heart warmed at that.

James continued with his pointer finger raised, as if to make a point, and with a wide smile, "Plus, have you seen him lately? He looks horrible." He waved around the werewolf's direction and, sure enough, he looked tired and stressed out.

"Gee. Thanks, Prongs," he replied while rolling his eyes. Remus moved away from the door, letting him through. With the way finally unblocked, James rush outside while shouting a, "Love you too, Moony!"

The three Marauders looked at the open door then at each other, obviously not buying that what their friend said was the complete truth.

Sirius approached the door. "He's definitely seeing someone," he wiggled his eyes at Remus.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Leave him be, Padfoot," he said as Sirius shut the door.

O=

"So, 'Little Bear'?" asked James after giving Polly an excuse for being late. He casually ruffled his hair when he sat.

"We're here to study, James," Polly said while grinning at him. She turned back to her Transfiguration textbook and continued taking down notes on a spare parchment. She had decided to start while waiting for James to arrived. She wouldn't admit it but she actually arrived a few minutes late herself, just before James did. Her friends had cornered her since she wasn't spending as much time with them than they would have wanted.

"I heard Regulus call you that a few days back," James pushed on, "What does it mean?"

She put down her quill with a sigh. "Little Bear," she started, "It comes from my name, 'Polaris', which is a star. Since Black's name their kids after stars," she shrugged. If it were up to Polly, she'd never name her child after as star. "It's in the constellation Ursa Minor."

"Ursa Minor?" James said with a smile, "Little Bear. Cute," he grinned, "Not as cute as 'James' though." Polly rolled her eyes at him but gave a soft chuckle.

"What about you? What's 'Pron-'"

"What about 'Pib'?" he cut her off.

Polly groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I hate that," she then looked up to glare at the amused boy. James' grin only widened when he saw an slight ink smudge on her cheek.

"You've got something there," he pointed at her cheek. But when she tried to wipe it away, it only got worse. An outsider would say, 'Ohhh, here comes a cheesy part...'

James laughed then moved to sit beside her. "Here," he pushed her hand away, "let me." He rubbed the stain softly, only to make it spread even more. "Okay, this is not working out like I hoped," he said.

"What were you hoping then, Mr. Potter?" Polly said in a flirty tone while excessively batting her eyelashes. She swiftly and discreetly dipped her finger into her ink pot then smeared it onto his forehead completing his uneven 'uni-brow'.

"Hey"! James exclaimed. As a revenge, he then booped her nose with more ink. After a few more ink marks, they checked their reflections on the window only to burst out laughing for their 'face-painting' masterpieces.

Little did they know that a red-head was watching from afar.

O=

Lily Evans was enjoying her homework-free weekend... studying. Yes. Studying.

The red-headed muggleborn loved to read. She loved the library. She loved learning more about the Wizarding World, having been brought up by muggles in the non-magical world. It was a great place to relax or study. Plus, it was her solitude from the boisterous Marauders. So, when she saw James Potter sneaking in, she knew he was there for trouble. And as a prefect, it's her job to keep out trouble. She'd be giving him another detention.

Lily packed up her bag and followed him to through the labyrinth of bookshelves. She gave an soft sigh. "What are you up to, Potter?" she mumbled to herself. In the last few weeks, the pranks the Marauders have been doing were more elaborate and thought out than usual. They were almost too powerful and dangerous.

She continued to follow him to the very corner of the library. Out of sight from everyone. 'He's definitely here for trouble,' she thought.

She had to follow him from afar as to not get noticed. It was to her confusion, when she saw him sit with a girl. The other Black. 'Wait, what?'

They were laughing together. Both smeared with ink. And within close proximity with each other. Lily felt something twinge inside her. Was it in her heart? She couldn't help but feel a little envious, since the James Potter's attention was now on a different girl. In all her years, the raven haired boy had chased after her, annoyed her, and praised her. Now, all of it is shifted to someone else.

Jealous? A little. But she realized, 'Like Alice and Frank. They're perfect for each other. I'd like to be that happy with someone, someday,' she gave a small smile. She'd never seen herself with James like that. And now she's... free. And she was happy for both of the ink smeared teens laughing a few feet away.

Lily gave one last sigh and turned away, forgetting the detention she was supposed to give him. 'One day,' she smiled, 'I'll find the one. But for now...' she took a book off a passing bookshelf and checked it out of the library.

O=

"P.I.B." Polly said suddenly, as they were silently reading her book. Actually, it was only her reading, with a slightly dozing off James.

"What?" he asked, startled to be awaken. He rested his chin on his palm and look at her with a raised eyebrow. He still had a few faint ink smudges on his face which looked adorable to Polly. 'Adorable like a messy little baby,' she had said.

"P.I.B. Pib," she repeated, trying hard not to wince. She really hated her middle name.

"P.I... - What's the 'I'?"

"Irma," she groaned in reply.

James started to laugh but quickly disguised it with a cough when he saw her glare. "Um, I mean... like Madam Irma Pince?"

Polly widened her eyes, "Wait?! That's her name?" She had the same name as the librarian and she seemed to think it was funny. She started to giggle uncontrollably which she tried to muffle with her arm. When James joined in, it worsened into boisterous laughs.

When they finally calmed down, Polly sighed, "I was supposed to call Regulus, 'Rab' for R.A.B. But that's for Rabastan."

James gave an 'Ugh!' Polly looked at him offended, "What?"

"I hate that kid. He once got us busted before we even get to set up our pranks," he said ruffling his hair, "That kid's annoying."

"Hey!" Polly slapped his arm. She rolled her eyes. Rabastan, for her, was a sweet yet mischievous little kid. He was spoiled yet he knew how to share... well, only with the rare few who he likes, mainly Polly. She only met him a few months ago, it was even before he was sorted into Slytherin. His curiosity made him follow his brother, Rodolphus and Bella when they came to visit the mysteriously concealed Black. He decided that he liked her ever since she had entertained him with her powers.

"Of course you'd defend him," James continued, "He practically praises the ground you step on."

She just rolled her eyes again and continued to read her book. James, on the other hand, was bored with Transfiguration. He stood up and walked towards the nearest shelf behind him. He came upon a book, which seemed to be out of place from the Potions section in their corner.

"Elements," he read loudly, which made Polly look up.

She had a slight panicked look to her face but quickly melted into confusion. "What?"

"It's a book about Elements," he waved the book at her.

"Like in Chemistry?"

"No. Like elements of nature."

She shook her head, "Why'd you pick that up?"

"It seems out of place. Don't you think?"

"Hmmm," Polly hummed in reply then looked down to her own book.

"Do you reckon it's interesting to learn about?"

Polly hummed in reply once more. Thinking of it as some kind of encouragement, James flipped through the intricate book. 'Fire, water, earth, air,' he flipped through the next page, 'then a lot more in between.' He quickly scanned a few more pages and was absorbed in seconds.

When he look up towards Polly, she was still reading her book. He sneaked up towards her and saw that she was staring at the same page for a while now. She looked slightly tired and stressed. So, he sighed.

"Okay that's enough studying for today," he flipped her book close while placing down his own. He sat again, opposite from her. "I want you to draw me."

"Why?..." Polly asked. She slowly raised her head to face him but only saw that he was in a ridiculous pose already. It was a dramatic, girly fashionista kind of pose. And that cracked a smile from her. She bit her lip to suppress her laugh but quickly took out a blank parchment.

He was fidgety. Shaking. "You know. You should have chosen a simpler pose," she commented while lightly sketching his structure with a pencil.

"I'm fabulous!"

"Of course you are, darling," she smirked.

"How's it lookin'?" he asked as he turned his head toward her. She gave a playful glare then pointing to his head. "Turn it back," so he did, "and don't move."

James Potter as a model was as difficult to draw as... the hardest thing to draw. He had ruffled his hair a hundred time. "Could you hold still?" Polly said as she slouched into her work. "I need to go to the loo." "Stop fidgeting." It went on for a few more minutes and when Polly was done she acted as she was still drawing. It seems that watching James torture himself was vividly amusing.

"Are you done?" he asked with a struggling puff.

"Yup. Like 5 minutes ago."

"What?!" he exasperated. He rolled his shoulders and neck, both gave satisfying cracks. And sat back down with a pout. "You should treat your models with kindness, Polly Bear."

Polly giggled and pushed towards him the sketch, "What do you think?"

"Beautiful," he said as he admired the drawing, "the model, I mean." Which earn himself a smack in the head. In truth, James loved the drawing. He thought back to the airplanes Polly had been sketching when they first met. He thought of flying. 'She must love flying,' he considered, 'Would she like to be taken out on a broomstick ride around Hogwarts?'

"Okay," she said, pulling him out of his thought, "Now, after admiring my masterpiece, it's your turn to draw me." She pushed him another blank parchment and did an equally ridiculous pose. The two teenagers gave another round of laughter. Not seeming to have care of the world around them.

O=

Madam Pince had heard the loud laughter in her library. And that cannot be. When she reached the far corner of the maze of shelves, she was ready to kick out the mischievous Marauders who dared sneak into her place.

She quickly stopped in her tracks. What she saw in front of her had never been seen before. Two teens from the two different rivaling houses spending their time with each others company. Both having fun, laughing, away from the judgemental world. Her heart softened.

She couldn't ruin that for them. She knew that. She knew it was their sort-of safe haven. So, she let them be. 'Just this time, Potter. If you break her heart, you'll never be seen in my library ever again.'


	5. Chp 5 : On Top Of The World

Since it's Hogwarts, rumors flies fast. Of course everyone would notice that James Potter isn't trailing after Lily Evans anymore or even asking her out. Only a rare few of people knew why and they, fortunately for James and Polly, have decided to keep their mouth shut.

"Maybe it's a tactic."

"Or he'd already given up."

"He found someone else?"

"You don't hear him asking anybody out, do you?"

"Lily, what do you think?"

Lily looked up from her food and raised her eyebrow. She chewed slowly as she thought it out. She knows she cannot tell anyone about what she saw. "It doesn't really matter. But-" she said placing down her form, "-I think he's just more focused on his pranks. Like the one last week, the one with the exploding pies."

"It's true..." Alice said while poking her food.

"Their all so..." Marlene proceeded to wave her hands wildly to represent 'BOOM!'

"I've never seen them do pranks that brilliant before," said Mary, "Plus, detention seems to not be helping."

Lily sighed. They will never learn. With every prank comes another detention. And the Marauders have had so many in the last few weeks.

=O=

"You know, I'm starting to get guilty for you guys getting all the blame," Polly admitted as James sat down. It was almost curfew and Polly was shocked to even see him there after his detention.

"Don't be," he said, "But my friends as getting suspicious." He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided her gaze.

"What do you think will happen," she asked softly, "If they find out you're hanging out with me?"

James shrugged "Probably the end of the world. What about your friends?"

"Tori and Percy are always in some dark corner snogging. Severus is umm... yeah he'll probably freak out," James rolled his eyes at this, "Barty and Reggie are already suspicious. And you don't want to know about how overprotective Reggie can be."

"Overprotective cousin?"

"Umm," she'd always avoid eye contact when talking about her family, "something like that. I used to almost never see them until I came here, so I guess they want me to spend a lot more time with them." She silently packed her things into her bag. It was almost curfew.

"That reminds me," James hesitated, "Why did you only come to Hogwarts this year?"

Polly's grip on her bag tightened. She had let out a trembling breath, bit her lip, then closed her eyes. "I w-want to tell you... I wanted to tell s-someone." James started to get worried. He moved to sit beside her and placed a comforting hand around her.

"Please don't judge me when I cry," she continued. She will tell him. She needs to let it out. "Shoot! I think I'm gonna cry." A single tear rolled down her cheeks, followed by another and another. James patiently waited. He softly wiped off her tears with his thumb. He's not used to doing stuff like that but it felt like the right thing to do.

"It's okay," he blurted. The crying girl gave him look. "I mean, it's obviously NOT okay. But it will be."

Polly gave a soft giggle but quickly turned serious. She started to recall that dreadful night.

*Flashback*

Polly was watching from the stairs. She'd done that thousands of times even until she was fifteen. Her mama Amelia was talking to some people in masks and cloaks. They seem to be in a heated conversation.

"I said NO!" Amelia screamed, her hands were shaking. She was barely holding on to the lid that kept her powers at bay. She could have roasted the men but she was a kind-hearted woman. And Polly knew that.

"Tell your Dork Lord that he could kiss my arse," she growled as she slammed the door. She turned around with her hand on her head. She saw Polly peaking through the stairs and sighed. "Polaris, we talked about listening to my conversations."

"Sorry, Mama" she apologized and walked down the stairs to meet her. "What was that about?" She knew they were Deatheaters and of course they'd be coming for the Amelia Pitch.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Amelia said as she booped her nose. "So, you want food, little one?"

She was clearly avoiding it and that worried Polly even more.

A few days later, a deafening scream ripped through the whole neighborhood. Polly had found Amelia Pitch lying down on a puddle of her own vomit and blood.

*End of flashback*

She told him almost everything. She told him about the masked men. 'Deatheaters,' James thought. She talked about them talking to her Amelia before she died from 'accidentally' drinking poison.

"She'd n-never," Polly sobbed, "I think- I think they killed her. Of course they k-killed her. I know what you're thinking," she looked at James, "Deatheaters. They were probably trying to recruit her. S-she's a powerful witch. She taught me to-" Polly stopped herself and furiously wiped her cheeks.

"She refused," she confirmed, "She refused! Then she got killed. All the others say it was an accident but I know better." She hugged James tighter.

They were both silent for a while, but then she blurted, "I want to make them pay."

James pushed her away slightly to look at her eyes, "What?"

"I meant what I said. I want to make them pay." There was fire in her eyes and James saw that. But there was also darkness. He selfishly wanted the cheery Polly back. "Polly, I-" Then he remembered why he ran to the library to meet her at a time so close to curfew.

"Come on," he gently pulled her up. Polly looked at him, uncertainly. "I have a surprise for you."

=O=

"No no no no no. NO!"

"What?" James asked with a confused expression.

"I am not getting on that," Polly pointed at the hovering broomstick in front of her with a horrified expression. She had wiped of most of the tears from her face but her cheeks were slightly puffy. They were out at the Quidditch pitch. There was no light and, hopefully, no one would spot them.

"Why not?"

"I'm terrified of heights," she admitted, her eyes were wide, "And it's pass curfew. We could get caught."

"We won't," James assured her, "But I thought you liked muggle planes."

"What?!" Polly's focus was still on the broomstick. She was really freaking out. She had never ridden on one before. Even when Regulus tried to force her.

"The first time we spoke, I saw you drawing planes."

"That's freaking different!"

"Are you sure you're not Bellatrix's sister? She hates flying too. Well... unless she's watching the Slytherins win in Quidditch."

But Polly only pouted.

James sighed and took her hand, "Come on." Polly started to resist but some part of her wanted to keep holding his hand. He gently led her to the broomstick. He mounted on first then help her on the back.

"Woah," she exclaimed when James led the broom higher. "Oh sh-" she was cut of when the Gryffindor chaser suddenly sped up upward. She let out a terrified scream as she held onto him with shut eyes. James gasped at the crushing weight on his chest but relaxed when he realized it was only Polly.

James slowly leveled the broom and had let it hover in the air, "Polly, look." But he only felt her shake her head. "I promise you won't fall. Just open your eyes and hold on to me." Polly was shaking. She couldn't feel the ground with her feet. With the small reassurance from James, she opened one eyes which is then followed by the other.

"Wow!" she gasped.

The view in front of her was magnificent. She always heard that Hogwarts was even more lovely at night but she never thought it to be this lovely. It was dark at night but the lively lights from within the castle made it a sight to behold. The first years would see this on their first night at Hogwarts by boats, before they were sorted. Polly never had that pleasure but this, she thought, was much better.

"I'm going to fly around okay?" Polly nodded as she felt the wind pushing against her face and hair. James started slowly, as to not frighten her. But in every second they spent in the air, she wanted more.

"Fly faster, James!"

"Are you sure?" he asked but was confirmed by her wide, bright eyes that shimmered in the moonlight.

'I can't believe I've never tried to fly on a broomstick before,' she thought, 'I didn't think it would be this fun. Or is it just this boy in front of me that makes it better?' She smiled. She still held on to him but squeeze a bit tighter and leaned in for a hug. "Thank you," she whispered. She didn't think he'd hear her but then he replied, "No problem."

They flew round for a few minutes, getting higher and higher. Until they zipped out of the Quidditch pitch and zoomed towards the castle. "Umm... won't people see us?"

He shook his head, "Nah. I mean, it's pass curfew-"

"-and that's exactly the point. We'll get in trouble if we're spotted. Then my Mother would kill me. Then you. And then me again."

James chuckled, "Don't worry, Miss Black. I'll make sure you're records are clean."

After a few turns, James flew them back towards the pitch. He set them hovering nearer to the ground then he expertly swung his legs to one side of the broomstick, which gave a violent jolt. "What the-" Polly gasped in panic, "What are you doing?" He just swung his other leg to the other side and was now facing her.

Polly trembled, her knuckles were turning white from gripping the broom too tightly. James felt sorry. He just immediately thought she loved flying without asking her first. He placed his own hand on her gripping hand, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

"Look, I'm really sorry, Polly Bear," he looked up at her and saw her smile at him. And with a smile like that, James couldn't help but smile back.

"It's okay, James," she moved her hands to intertwine with his, "It was amazing. Just not the reckless flying part." James opened his mouth to argue that he was an expert but was cut off when Polly leaned closer.

James felt like a magnet was pulling him to her, so he started to lean in as well. Polly saw his eyes had an intense look. For a moment, she taught he was mad at her but before she could ponder it further, she felt his breath on her lips. 'Bloody hell,' she thought since she never kissed anyone before.

James thought he was going mad. 'Oh shoot! I like her. I really like her.'

Both of their hearts were raising. Their breathes became shakier. And their cheeks were burning red.

Just as their lips were about to touch, Polly jerked back. James blushed furiously and looked away, "I'm sorry. I-" but she cut him off by placing her hand on his lips. She had a finger to his lips to say, 'sshhh'. He raised his eyebrows.

"I think someone's watching us," she whispered looking around. James turned to look around as well. He caught a slight movement from a far. His eyes widened when he saw a boy with a dog and a rat. The Marauders. His friends were watching them with their mouths open. And it was obvious that the expression they're giving him means, 'You better explain yourself, Mr. Prongs.'


	6. Chp 6 : Just Friends

It was one of the best nights of her life. Correction, it was the best night of her life. Period.

Polly was carefully sneaking to the Slytherin Common Room just an hour after curfew. After having her first broomstick ride of her life, she was exhilarated. A few pieces of her hair were all over the place. It's too bad it had ended too soon. After James explained that his friends were the ones watching, they quickly zoomed down to the Qudditch pitch and ran on to their separate ways.

James wanted to walk her back but Polly told him to go work out and explain some things with the rest of the Marauders. 'James. James Freakin' Potter almost kissed me.' Polly blushed again.

She quietly whispered the password to the Common Room, "Pureblood". And basically sprinted in after checking her back, careful to not be seen by a teacher. A small silly grin was still on her face when- slap!

"Bloody Hell!" Polly cursed while rubbing her slapped cheek. She raised her eyes to meet the accusatory gaze of Victoria and the rest of her friends.

"What's wrong with you, Polaris?! You need to wake up! Snap out of it!" Tori screamed at her. She was the one who slapped Polly and, with her nasty temper, it meant she wasn't playing around. And everyone knows not to piss Tori Snow off, unless you want to face her full wrath of hexes.

"Me? What's wrong with you?!" Polly yelled back furiously. It seems that her perfect night has really ended. But she really wasn't expecting a slap as a greeting from her friend.

"Barty told us what he and Regulus saw."

Polly's eyes widened slightly. She looked around to her friends and saw Regulus staring down at the floor with an unreadable expression.

"They saw what?" Polly asked slowly, not wanting to jump to any conclusions. 'They couldn't have seen us, could they? Merlin's beard! Do they know?' she panicked.

Percy moved to wrap an arm around Tori, which she shoved off. He sighed and finally said, "You were flying with Potter."

'Shoot, they know! It wasn't only the Marauders who saw us. Oh, Mother will definitely hear about this,' Polly thought. "Shhh," she looked around the Common Room. There were still a few students lounging about. She didn't want someone like Avery or Rosier to hear them.

"Potter! Seriously?!" Severus' face was red. Polly didn't even have the heart to joke, 'siriusly?'

He was enraged. Why would his best friend hang out with his bully? The one who embarrassed him so many times. And the one who made him lose his first best friend by calling her a 'mudblood'.

"He's a complete arse! A bullying toe rag! That bloody Gryffindor is nothing but trouble!" The list went on and on. With every insult, Polly's heart sank. Everyone of her friends nodded in agreement. Polly started to question if she really knows James?

Severus then softly held her hand and added softly, "Polly, he's a player. I just don't want you getting hurt." He gave Polly's hand a soft squeeze and turned to the others. Tori was still fuming but it seems that the lost look in Polly's face softened her a bit.

It was silent for a while when they all turned to Regulus. He was still looking down when Polly called to him in a whisper, "Reggie?"

The pale boy looked up then nodded to his friends to leave. He wanted to talked to Polly alone. He silently led them to the couches where three first years where gossiping about who-knows-what. When they saw the two approach them, they quickly gathered their things and ran to their dorms.

Regulus and Polly sat together. Polly on the couch and Regulus on the floor in front of her. Both staring at the crackling fire. "Are you happy with him?"

"Reg," she sighed while playing with his hair, "We're just friends."

"'Just friends' don't almost kiss each other, Pib," he replied, still staring into the fire. Polly's face started to heat up again when he mentioned the 'almost kiss'. 'He saw that too?' she face-palmed mentally, wanting to bury herself in the ground.

Regulus then turned to face Polly, making her let go if his hair. "Little Bear," he started, "He doesn't deserve you. Even as a friend. You're too innocent for him," she started to argue that she wasn't that innocent but he quickly added, "And you're too smart. Too kind. Too pure and awesome for him." Polly looked down to her lap. The corner of her lips were tugging up a bit.

"So, are you gonna ban me from meeting up with him?" she stared at Regulus with pleading eyes. The kind Reggie would never be able to resist.

"Of course not, Pib," he got up and sat beside her, "I would never," he added when he reached for her hands.

"Thanks, Reggie."

"You're welcome, Pib. I told you I'm awesome."

Polly just rolled her eyes and laid her head on his lap.

"It seems I'm not the only boy in your life anymore," he playfully nudged.

"You've never been the 'only' boy in my life, you arse. But you're still my number one," she replied grinning.

Regulus stared at her for a bit then blurted, "You've been crying," he rubbed his thumb across her slightly puffy cheek, "Why?"

He could always read through her. Polly's eyes started to pool again. And it all came falling out. She told him about the Deatheathers. Their conversation with Amelia. The poison. The body. Regulus listened to everything while hugging her close, kissing the top of her head, and comforting her like every time she would get a nightmare when he was visiting her.

"Reg," she looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Promise me you'll never join the Deatheaters. Promise me."

That shocked Regulus. He never even thought of joining this 'Dark Lord' ever. "I promise. I would never," he replied holding her gaze.

"Mother and Father might force you. They're full on supporting 'him', I think. Bella's planning to join them. She told me that herself and I can't-" her voice cracked. She gulped nervously, trying to calm herself down. "Just don't leave me for them alright?"

When Regulus nodded she gave a relieved sigh. It's not that she didn't trust him, to think that he would even consider joining, but he always followed whatever their parents said.

They stayed huddled together for a while. It broke Regulus' heart to learn about the death of his favorite mother figure. Amelia had always taken care of the children when ever they came to visit Polly. Her place was their home, unlike Grimmauld Place. Then the older boy asked, no louder than a whisper, "You ready to go 'home' for Christmas Break?"

"To be honest, not really. I've already packed though. You?"

"Same. I want to physically and mentally prepare myself for the depressing weeks we'll have starting tomorrow."

"You'll never know," Polly said in a sing-song voice. He raised an eyebrow at her and said, "Oh no, what are you planning to do?"

"It's a surprise," she grinned while laying back down to rest her head to his lap, "So, you wanna stay down here for a while?"

"Mhmm..." he nodded.

O=

It's the next day and everyone going home for Christmas were piling up the Hogwarts Express. This included the Marauders who had just sat down on their own compartment.

"Padfoot, please-"

"No," Sirius cut James off with his arms crossed on his chest.

"He's just being childish," Remus rolled his eyes while flipping to another page of his book.

"He's hanging out with a Black!" Sirius argued. "You're a Black," Peter pointed out.

James jumped on his seat, "See!" he said, enthusiastically gesturing to his stout friend, who was stuffing his face with food.

"She's a Slytherin!"

"So?"

"'So?'?!?" Sirius was now pulling on his long hair, "Bloody hell, Prongs! What's wrong with you? Did you lose your mind?!" The students passing along their compartment were bewildered and obviously wanting to stay for the drama but quickly left when Remus had stared them down. Or it's possibly because of the horrible sight of Peter's pie-stuffed face.

James and Sirius never argued about anything big before. They're basically two faces of the same coin. Both joint at the hip. Agreeing to everything the other says. Where no one ever saw one without the other... until a couple of weeks ago.

James sighed, along with Remus, and said to his best dog-ish mate in a serious tone, "Sirius, we've been prejudice against Slytherins from the very beginning. I think that's my fault for influencing you and I'm sorry," Sirius' jaw dropped, seeming to not believe his friend, "We never even stopped to consider that some Slytherins could be... good." They all raised their brows at him.

"Which brings us back to the argument that she's a Black."

"You're unbelievable," James groaned. He slumped down his chair while he childishly crossed his arms. "No, you are," Sirius countered while copying James with a pout.

Remus rolled his eyes. Sirius was definitely not making any sense right now. He closed his book with a snap making the other three jump. All the attention was to him now. He then faced James. "To tell you the truth, I'm shock and proud that you're over the Slytherin prejudices. Hopefully, it would apply to Snape and the others and not only the girl you're with."

"Snivellus? Not a chance. And her name's Polly. Or Polaris," James said, to which Sirius rolled his eyes, "Besides, we're just friends."

"'Just friends' don't just almost kiss one another, James," Remus pointed out and went back to open his book. "But you have to be sure."

"Of what?" James asked.

"She's a... serpent, Prongs. You've gotta be sure she's not playing you. I mean, do you even really know her?"

"Of cour-"

"Hold up!" Sirius butted in, "Is she the one you're getting our new prank ideas from?" James nodded with hesitation, 'Can't hide anything now, can I?'.

"Unbelievable! Okay, I can't let this happen. We've been playing a snake's game."

"Siruis," Remus warned.

"I can't let her destroy our legacy," Sirius argued, "I can't let this new girl tramp over our works of art. We've got to prank her. Use her own ideas against her."

Peter's eyes widened, "No way." The idea of Polly creating the brilliant pranks they've been doing frightens him a lot.

"That's a very Slytherin thing to say, Padfoot," Remus narrowed his eyes at him. But Sirius wasn't listening. He was already staring out the window with his pride set all around him like a wall, a barrier. And nothing ever could get between him and his pride.

James took a deep breath.'This will we a long ride,' he thought.

O=

"See you guys in a few weeks," James and Sirius waved goodbye to their two friends. Remus and Peter were going back to their own homes but plan to meet up again on Christmas.

"Jamie! Siri!" an angelic motherly sound called out to them.

"Mum! Dad!" the two boys cheered and let go of their bags. They ran towards the two elder witch and wizard, who were waiting to take them home. Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Purebloods with pure hearts, who took in Sirius in his time of need. James and Sirius enveloped both of their parents in warm hugs.

"Oh golly! I've missed you two so much! How was school?" their mum ruffled their hair in a tender way, "No, wait. Tell me everything once we get home." She gave her boys a kiss on their cheeks then began to pick up James' bags.

"No, mum. I'll get it," he grinned, taking them from her.

The whole Potter family, including Sirius, then stood hand in hand ready to apparate back home. "Ready?" their dad asked. "READY!!" Sirius replied with a cheer. And with a loud crack they disappeared from Platform 9 3/4. Then appeared back at the majestic but homey Potter Manor.

After nearly barfing on their mother's favorite flowers, James and Sirius steadied themselves then both grinned at each other, trying to hide the argument they had at the train. But you could never really underestimate a mother's instinct. "What's wrong, boys?" she asked, "You're so quiet. What's wrong?"

Sirius looked away and bit his lips, "James is friends with a Black," he blurted.

Mr. Potter looked amused and gave a chuckle, "Yes, Sirius, he's friends with you."

"No, no, no. I meant another Black. A new transfer student."

"Really?" he looked at James with an unsure expression.

"Umm. Yeah... about that-" James started.

"Is she a girl?" his mother cut him off with a smile starting to widen on her lips. When James nodded, she squealed. "Wait. I thought you liked a 'Lily Evans'?" his father said, confused. But she only rolled her eyes at her husband.

"Yes, mum, she's a girl. But can we back track to when I said she's a Black," Sirius butted in.

"Why?"

"'Why?'!?" Sirius exclaimed, "Not you too," he groaned while pulling on his hair again. He puffed and pouted, grabbing his bags and stormed haughtily to his room. The elder Potters never seen him act like that before. Mrs. Potter was about to follow him but James stopped her.

"Don't worry 'bout him. His been like that since yesterday." he assured his mum.

His father was a busy man, though he always tried to find time for his family. He checked the time and gave a soft groan, "I need to get back to work. See you at dinner," Mr. Potter gave James a clap at the back then a quick kiss to his wife. Then quickly apparated away with a crack.

Once he was gone, James's mum turned to him, "She's not in Gryffindor, is she?"

"Slytherin," James said, carefully studying her face.

"What made you like her?" she asked excitedly. "Mom!" James whined. "Okay, okay. It's just... You always talked about 'Lily this' and 'Lily that'. Why so secretive about..." she trailed of not knowing her name.

"Polaris. Or Polly," James supplied.

"She's definitely a Black. Polaris. What a beautiful name."

"I know," James sighed softly, "but we're just friends."

She raised her eyebrow. "Alright. Since you're not going to talk about her then I suggest you get to your room and start unpacking, young man. I'll call you down when dinner's ready."

"Yes, ma'am," he did a mock salute then ran to his room with all his belongings.

After lazily unpacking his clothes, James flopped down to his bed. He was ready to sink in when he heard the familiar sound of soft flaps and a screech. "Mail!" he exclaimed, jumping up and running down to the living room where the family owl, Nix, a snow white owl who was pecking into the food his mother had set her.

"Hey Pads! We've got mail!" he shouted to his friend after taking the letters from the owl.

"Oh no. That's from the Blacks," Sirius said when he got down and saw the letter James was holding. It was black and silver, formal with an ornate design. Both their names where elegantly written on the envelope. "Let's burn it!" he suggested.

"Boys!" their mum warned.

"Or not..."

"They're invitations," James said incredulously.

"For what now?" Sirius frowned then read his own letter.

"Let's just say... you might want to reconsider pranking Polly,"

Sirius had reread the whole thing over and over and every time his eyes would widen more and more. When we looked up at James with a shocked and confused expression, he could only muster two words. "Wait, what?"


	7. Chp 7 : My Big Brother

Sirius Orion Black,

Walburga and Orion Black of the Noble House of Black cordially invite you to the introduction of their third born child, Polaris Irma Black, on a formal ball at Black Manor. December 23rd,7pm.

=O=

*Flashback*

It was the Christmas break after Regulus was sorted into Slytherin. He was heading back home from Hogwarts, even though Hogwarts seemed to be the better home at that time. He was alone. Sirius has stayed again at school with his best friends. Ever since the sorting ceremony, he was constantly ignoring his little brother for being sorted into the House of Snakes. Regulus only felt worst every time he sees Sirius laughing with the rest of the Marauders.

The scenery started to look familiar to Regulus. The Hogwarts Express was now approaching King's Cross Station at Platform 9 3/4. When the train jolted to a stop, Regulus sprang up to reach for his bags and then out of the train.

Right outside stood Walburga and Orion Black. Both regal in some dark way. The are pure-bloods after all. Other wizards swerved from their path. All of them wary and sometimes scared of approaching the duo.

When Regulus saw them he slowed down his pace. A few months ago they had sent him a letter congratulating him for making it to Slytherin, while criticizing his brother, and saying that they have a surprise for him. Regulus' parent never do surprises. Getting into Slytherin can't be really that big of a deal, right?

"Mother. Father," he greeted his parents.

Walburga had a frightful smile on her face, "Regulus, right on time. But we must get going."

"Home?"

"No, son," Orion replied with his cool voice. "It's time for you to meet your sister."

*End of flashback*

"Are you ready, lil' sis?" Regulus said peaking through Polaris' door. Her new room had just been redecorated. And it was the brightest, most joyous place in 12 Grimmauld Place. It was all, in a way, 'her'. It was also Regulus' new favorite room.

"You need to chill, Reggie. The party won't start 'til 7pm. We've got a lot of time to kill before then," Polly replied while spreading all her dresses on her bed.

"Sorry. It's the nerves," he said wriggled his hands. He looked at her dress covered bed and turned to sit on the couch right beside it. "We're finally telling, Sirius."

"Well, he already knows," she sighed, "The invitation is just so obvious. We've been keeping it from almost everyone for so long only to tell them all now. It'll be so suspicious to introduce me to the public. To tell them that I was your sister, your twin sister, after all this time."

"At least I found out first. I finally beat Sirius to something."

Polly looked up from her dressed with a disappointed frown, "Reg, we've talked about this."

"It was a joke, Polly. Lighten up," Regulus smiled, yet it looked like a grimace when Polly came up to him.

"Just don't compare yourself to him. You're you and he's him. Okay?" she squeezed both his shoulders then ruffled his hair.

*Flashback*

Regulus was excited. But also scared. He was excited and scared. And of course, a little more than a little furious at his so called parents. They have kept his twin sister, whom he never knew about, away from him and Sirius. Away from her brothers.

'Sirius doesn't know. I know something he doesn't. I'll be the first among the two of us to meet our little sister,' he thought while waiting in Amelia Pitch's living room.

There was a loud crash from the second floor of the house. "Sorry," called a young girl's voice followed by a giggle. She was nearly like Sirius. Regulus' heart thumped faster. When Amelia came downstairs to the living room, Walburga gave her a disappointed glare. Her daughter was meant to be brought up as a proper lady, not a cluts.

Right behind Amelia was a young girl, a little bit shorter than Regulus but they almost looked the same. Well, she mostly looked like Bella but Regulus was the obvious twin brother.

The girl walked up to Regulus and their mother with a polite smile, though she was dying inside to meet her brother. "Hello, Mother," she greeted with a slight nod.

"Polaris Irma," Walburga smiled at her, "Meet your brother, Regulus Arcturus. He's been sorted into Slytherin, like Bellatrix." Regulus saw from Polaris' face a slight wince at the mention of their cousin. 'Bella must have really frightened her,' he thought. Their cousin had the tendency to scare them off with her wild stories about 'mudblood this', 'disowned that', and such.

"Regulus," his mother called.

"Hello," he said, trying not to be awkward. Not knowing what to do, he held up his hand for a handshake. Polly stared at his hand for a second before jumping up to him from a bone crushing hug.

Their mother gave a deep sigh and coolly said to Polly's teacher that she'll be expecting Regulus to return, through floo, before 9pm, and apparated off.

"I'll get you two something to eat," Amelia smiled at the twins then left for the kitchen.

When the twins finally pulled apart, they were grinning at each other.

"So, I'm your big brother?"

She nodded, "And I'm your lil' sis."

*End of flashback*

Regulus rolled his eyes, "You know, it's been hard to avoid calling you my sister at school."

"You did great, big bro," she chuckled and kissed his cheek. She then pushed off a few of her dresses to the floor then dived into her ever so comfortable bed.

"No really. Remember the time I called you 'lil' sss-bear'?" they laughed at the memory. "Yeah," Polly replied, "We had to convince Avery that 'sss-bear' is a combination of a snake and a bear."

"Good thing he's that thick."

"Really, Reg?"

"What?" he innocently widened his eyes.

Right then there was a knock at her door. "Enter," Polly called out with a posh, playful voice. When the door open, their house elf, Kreacher, poked his small, old head into the room.

"Mistress wanted Kreacher to say Miss Polly's gown is down stairs," he stated.

"My what?"

"Miss Polly's gown. Mistress Black had it made for Miss Polly's ball tonight." It made sense that Kreacher wasn't allowed to bring it up himself since he was a house elf.

Regulus and Polaris looked at each other. Here she was, scouring through her wardrobe to find the perfect dress only to find that her mother, who knew her size and all, had taken over the control of what she'll be wearing again tonight.

"Thank you, Kreacker," Polly dismissed the house elf kindly.

Regulus, being the gentleman that he really was, ran down to get her gown. When he got back, he placed it over her bed.

"It's so..." he started, with a squint of eyes and a tilt of head.

"Slytherin?" she offered. Because it was. Her gown was all black, silver and green. An emblem of a serpent was sewn into one side. If it were up to Polly, she'd add a bit more of a brighter green, and lessen the amount of black. 'This is why I hate formal Black parties,' she thought.

"Okay," Polly checked her clock, "with this new dress. I need to start getting ready. And I have no idea what to do."

"Hmm. So, do you think he will come?" he asked as he turned towards the door.

She sighed, "I hope so. Asking Mother to invite James was almost impossible. Merlin! All her questions and interrogations. She almost flipped!" It wasn't an exaggeration. Her mother wanted to know how she was friends with a 'Gryffindor blood-traitor', why the Potters had to be at her party, what was wrong with her to actually think of befriending him, and if they were going out with each other. Polly tried to reason out with her and answer her questions 'almost' truthfully but her mother would always twist her words.

Regulus turned back to her. He was standing right outside the door with a teasing smile, "Mmmhmm. Right."

"Ugh! Get out, you arse!" she giggled while chucking a pillow at him, which only hit the door when he closed it.

He then peaked back in, "Oh, by the w-," he was cut off. He didn't realize she had a second pillow to throw. She burst own laughing at the flabbergasted face Regulus made. "W-w-what was that a-again?" she tried to calm her self down.

Regulus jokingly glared at her and said, "Mother wanted me to tell you that we'll be apparating to the Manor."

"And if I barf on my dress?" she gestured to her new gown.

"Just try not to, Little Bear," he winked then left Polly pouting in her room.

*Flashback*

December 1973. It was the Regulus' second year at Hogwarts. It was that time of the year were he'll be seeing his sister again. And boy, he needed her. He wanted to share all his insecurities and life stories with her because she always listens.

Second year was slightly better than the first since Regulus had gained a new friend, Barty Crouch Jr. He was first year. They didn't get to see each other much but they would always hang out at the library. Without Barty, Regulus would always hear everyone talking about him and comparing him to his older brother. But with him, Regulus couldn't care less. They weren't really close back then. The younger boy knew Regulus wasn't opening up to him yet and trust between Slytherins could be ranked next to impossible.

"I miss him," he finally admitted to Polly when they were hanging out in her room that Christmas morning.

"Sirius?"

"Yeah. I miss him a lot. We were so close. Always there for each other. Ever since I was sorted into Slytherin, he wouldn't talk to me. He wouldn't even look my way. He hates me. And all I want is for us to be okay again. To spend our nights at his room talking. Trying to sneak out without Mother knowing. I want it all back."

When Regulus looked up at Polly he added, "Sorry." He was rambling about what he and Sirius had when Polly didn't even get to meet him.

"No, it's okay. Tell me more about him," she leaned closer.

"He's kinda like you,"

"Really? No way."

"It's true. You both got the minds of a prankster." Polly brightened up at that. "Annddd... he's very stubborn and hard-headed."

Polly sat up, "Ohh. So I'm stubborn and hard-headed?" When Regulus only grinned, she pounced at him. She struck for his ticklish parts.

After a lot of giggles and squeals, they were both panting. They had their backs onto the bed's headboard facing the window outside.

"I wish I could meet him. I wish I could meet Sirius."

"Be careful of what you wish for, Little Bear," he joked but gave a deep breath, "But I agree. I hope you'd get to meet him soon. It's not fair for Mother and Father to keep you away from us all the time."

Polly didn't reply, she just leaned on to her brother's shoulder enjoying their time together, while it lasts. It wasn't long before Amelia was calling him to get back home.

"Next time, we talk about you," Regulus said as he stood up.

"There's nothing to tell."

"What about the time you side along apparated with Amelia to a party and you threw up all over the hostess' dress?"

"That was one time, you arse," she said as she chucked her pillow at him which only hit the door as he left. They'd be seeing each other again in another private party hosted by the Malfoy's. Regulus wouldn't have survived that if it weren't for his twin as his companion. His partner in crime. His little sister.

*End of flashback*


	8. Chp 8 : Black Manor Part 1

Sirius Orion Black was acting really troubled ever since they got the invitation for something very troublesome. 'Polaris is my sister,' he repeated in his mind. It still hasn't really sunken in yet. 'Polaris Black. I have a sister.' He paced back and forth a couple of times, enough to stress out the others in the room.

"Really, Sirius, you should take a seat. You'll mess up your dress robes," Mrs. Potter said, trying to calm him down. But Sirius continued to pace anyway giving a loud sigh.

"It's just," he pulled on his hair then faced his Mom and best mate, "this is NOT how I imagined my Christmas to go." Mrs. Potter moved towards him and fixed his hair back, patting it down in a motherly way. A grin was on her face as she looked at her two sons.

"Actually, it isn't Christmas yet, Pads," James replied in front of the mirror. He was ruffling up is hair stressfully, trying to make it look good. But his anxiety and insecurities were kicking in.

"Christmas Eve Eve whatever. It's close enough," he complained, plopping himself on the couch. Both Potter's just rolled their eyes at the moping boy. He's been like that for almost a week. After their Mom made sure Sirius looked 'presentable' enough, she left him alone to sulk.

"Look at you," she squeal. She hugged James then gave him a quick overall look. "Aren't my two sons handsome?" She then pinched James' cheek and ruffled his hair a bit more. He pouted, "Mooom."

After ushering the two boys down to their living room, the bunch met up with Mr. Potter. In his elegant robes, he too looked formal and proper. But a little too formal for the young boys' liking, anyway. But Mrs. Potter was the fairest of them all. For the three boys, nothing could compare to her beauty. Her age doesn't show on her face and figure, not that it mattered. Her dress shone of Gryffindor Pride since she was a fierce and passionate woman. Plus, she felt a little rebellious in wearing it in a Slytherin's home.

"Do we have to go?" Sirius whined.

"Love, this is for your sister," his Mom reminded him. But Sirius groaned once again.

"At least you're not going back to that grim old place. Get it?" James grinned, trying again to cheer his friend up, "Grimmauld Place? Grim old place?" He nudged.

"Yes, Prongs. I get it," Sirius sighed and gave a short smile, "But it's the people in that house I don't like." James just replied with a 'we know, Pads'. "Black Manor would be much worse."

"What confuses me the most," started Mr. Potter, "is that James is the one very insistent in going." He looked at his son who was bouncing on his heels in excitement and anticipation. James took the news surprisingly well. Well, as well as it can be. He already knew she was a Black. So, no problem. But the first thing he thought about was, 'She's Padfoot's sister. Dating a best mate's sister must be breaking the Bro Code or something,' he shook his head. Was he really thinking about dating her?

"I just want to see how Polly's doing," he shrugged.

"You want to see 'my sister'! Holy sh-", the words died on Sirius' throat when Mrs. Potter turned to glare at him. "Sh--apes?" he continued innocently. James wiggled his eyebrows are him, whereas Sirius returned a playful glare.

"It's so strange... I have a sister..." he said slowly, as if to soak it all in again. "And Reg never told me! That little git," he then gritted his teeth.

"Sirius, language," their Mom scolded, She was checking around the house to see if something's still needed to be done before heading out. "And boys, please, behave."

"Beehive," the two whispered to each other with their usual silly grins. And since great prankster minds think alike, a lot of students would be receiving bees after the holidays.

"Well, Regulus did just meet her when he was sorted into Slytherin. She was only allowed to meet them on the Christmas break after getting sorted there," James said. He remembered what Polaris told him. Even though he wasn't sure if that information was classified of not, he said it anyway. She was Sirius's sister after all. 'Blimey, how many times have I said 'Sirius's sister'?'

"What about Rabastan? How does he know her? He shouldn't have been introduced before Polaris came to Hogwarts. But he knows."

"She told me Rabastan had snuck out to follow his brother," he paused, "and Bellatrix," Sirius rolled his eyes at the mention of his 'slightly' deranged cousin, "when they were visiting her last time."

"You seem to know a lot about her, son," Mr. Potter inquired. Sirius groaned at this.

"Ummm... yeah. We're like friends," James replied. His hand rubbing the nape of his neck. A blush was forming on his cheeks, which did not go unnoticed. Sirius scoffed. While their parents looked amused.

A soft chime of the clock reminded them to not arrive late on the very important event. Mrs. Potter had taken her place beside her husband after double checking the safety of their home. "Okay everyone ready?" When all nodded, the two elders held on to their sons and apparated away. 'Into the belly of the beast,' the long haired boy thought.

=O=

When the Potters arrived, there in the front door stood Walburga Black to greet them. In a grouchy, disdainful way, of course. The look she was giving Mrs. Potter's dress was less than scornful.

"Walburga," Mr. Potter greeted with a respectful nod.

Mrs. Black wasn't having any of it. She went straight to the point. "I don't know what you're putting into my daughter's mind. Why she even bothered adding you into the guest list." She was looking piercingly into James. It was meant as an insult but Sirius knew better. She wanted this. A Potter Black alliance is horrible and great at the same time. He just couldn't manage to think about it, for now. "You come from a well-respected family, Potter. Try not to embarrass me by inviting you tonight."

Walburga didn't glance at her disowned son. Not once, through the whole greetings. Sirius willed himself to think it didn't hurt but even a son misses his own mother. No matter how strict and cruel.

After a few more pleasantries, if that's what they call it, and a 'don't cause too much trouble' from Mrs. Potter, the teens split off from the grownups, who were already meeting up with other people they seem to know.

"Look, Prongs," Sirius pulled at his friend, "Foooodd..." the passing tray gave a mouthwatering scent a dog couldn't help but notice.

But James' attention was elsewhere. On the beautiful young lady who just swept into the room. Polaris Irma Black. She was wearing a majestic black and green dress, and is escorted by her brother, Regulus Black. 'A perfect picture of a Black pure-blood princess,' Sirius thought bitterly but the look on his mate's face was helpless.

James had hated green for the entirety of his life. Because he believed Slytherins were horrible and all others are good. But looking at the girl now, his perception of the color green has changed. It suited her so well. When he finally shook himself from the trance, he turned to Sirius.

"There she is," he whisper-shouted, while gesturing to Polly. "Your-"

"- sister," Sirius finished. Looking at her now, he finally saw why she looked strangely familiar. She looked like him. But most obviously, she looked like Regulus. Same black hair. Same piercing gray eyes. They have the same smile... And the same age. "They're twins."

James hadn't realized before so he widened his eyes in realization, "That's why Regulus is extra protective of her."

"Well, she's got another brother who's job is to be overprotective over her," he looked at James meaningfully. This is when James flushed. 'Yup, dating Polly would be difficult.'

"Okay, Prongs, I give you permission," Sirius said as he patted him on the back. 'Wait what?' James thought. "Go dance with her."

"Really?" the hazel-eyed asked uncertainly. Polly was now alone, roaming around, smiling at people. Their eyes have yet to come into contact. And James was panicking as she came closer.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm awesome," the gray-eyed said, waving his mate's worry off, but also coming into his protective older brother side. "And as her brother, I'm going to hunt you down if you hurt her," James gave a weak smile, "Besides, I'm getting my food." He then turned and headed for the table of delectables, not sure if what he did was right.

"Hey, Pads," James called, "you're going to talk to her. Right?"

Sirius never even had a short conversation with Polly, ever. Not even at Hogwarts. It completely escaped his mind that he'd be talking to her tonight. What kind of conversation would that be? Awkward? "I'm- I'm not yet sure," he replied weakly, "Do you think pranking is a great conversation starter?"

James gave his friend an encouraging smile, "Just try." And they both turned to face their own desired ways.

=O=

Polaris' heart was pounding on her chest. Every noble pure-blood family will be in there. There would be loads of judgemental eyes. 'If only there was a spell to make people turn away from something they want to see. Hmmm. I could work on that,' she smiled. James will be there.

She let out a choppy breath as she studied herself in her full length mirror. It looked too serious. 'Serious? Sirius. Sirius,' she repeated under her breath. Sirius will be there. It's the night she'll be meeting her older brother. The one she was kept from just because of being a Gryffindor. 'Reckless,' her Mother had said about him, 'Courageously stupid.'

Polly squinted once again at her reflection. She looked as Slytherin as she can be. She leaned into the mirror and hissed, "Sssss...", with a funny expression on her face. All was well, until suddenly a call of her name followed by a loud crash of her bedroom door destroyed her moment's peace.

"Polly, we're going to be late. Stop hissing at yourself on the mirror. Father's waiting," he panted, as if he ran all the way from the other side of their house.

"Okay, I'll be right behind you," she replied in a calm tone, though Regulus knew his sister is more than anxious. When she turned back to the door after a minute, her brother was still there leaning on the door frame, looking at her expectantly.

"Reg-"

"He's going to like you," he cut her off instead. "If Sirius is not smart enough to see how amazing you are then... he's an arse." It was a cliche thing to say but it still cracked a smile on her face.

"But what if he doesn't even want to talk to me?"

"Bloody hell, he'll have so many questions, his pride wouldn't even bother to catch up. He will talk. Trust me," he reassured her. "Now come on. Apparating. It's still tough for you. You'll need to freshen up a bit when we get into the Manor."

"I. Will. Not. Puke." She playfully growled at him. He wasn't bringing up the 'apparating-brafing party' incident when they were 12 but he was obviously thinking about it.

Regulus had continued to tease her until they arrived at their destination. "So? Do you need to-" "NO!" Polly shouted. "I'm perfectly fine. As you can see." She gave an elegant twirl with her dress to prove her point.

"Regulus," their Father called out. Most likely, to scold him.

"Sorry Father," he replied quickly regaining his calm, lordly posture. Polly always hated when he had to shift from his fun, loving self into that. "M'lady," he whispered as he held out his arm.

"What a gentleman," she whispered back as they follow their Father through the Manor. Front and center, they found Walburga greeting the last of their visitors into the ballroom.

"Hello, Mother," they said as they approached her.

She turned to them with a look of approval. "Polaris, you look beautiful, child. You know what to do. Mingle with those who deserve your presence. Regulus will introduce you," she said turning from Polly to Reggie. "Keep smiling, dear. It's your night."

Polly gave a weak yet convincing smile, "Here goes nothing," she muttered as they pushed through the tall door and entered the overwhelmingly filled room. "Oh my..."


	9. Chp 9 : Black Manor Part 2

When Polaris entered the ballroom, all eyes turn to her and Regulus. Well, mostly on her. Some had curious and awed expressions. While others wore judgmental looks, whispering to each other about rumors they may have heard about her.

Polaris took a nervous gulp. Regulus noticed that she was shaking a bit so he gave her hand an encouraging squeeze and helped her walk around the room. Polly had plastered on her best smile for the strangers to see. But her eyes always kept wandering about the room to find a certain raven haired boy.

"Sis," Regulus said, pulling her back from her wandering thoughts, "this is Basil Greengrass. Slytherin. He graduated from Hogwarts four years ago."

"Three years, actually," Basil corrected Regulus. "It's a pleasure meeting you, Miss Black," he smiled, taking her left hand and giving it a kiss. He was a young man. A bit taller than Regulus. He had long dirty blonde hair that was tied up at his back. He wasn't that attractive, compared to James anyway, but he definitely got the looks.

"The pleasure is all mine," Polly replied. Before Greengrass attempted to make a conversation, she found herself being whisked away by her brother. Polly looked back to see young Basil frowning at their direction. "Ummm... Reg?"

"Come on. Lots more to meet. We have to do it fast before we run out of time," he speedily explained.

"Run out of time? For what?" she whispered back to him. Before he could explain, however, they were already in front of a new set of grim looking people.

It went on for a while until Regulus, too, got bored, "I hate meeting those people. Would you prefer to have those who want to meet you just approach you in their own time?" Polly nodded eagerly. "Okay. I'll leave you to it then. I have to go do something. Save me a dance?"

"Of course, my dear old brother."

"I'm just seven minutes older than you," he rolled his eyes.

"Still old."

"Thanks, Little Bear. Now go get your man."

"M-my what?" Polly flushed. Before she could hit her twin on the place where it hurts most, he was already gone. Off to do whatever it is that he needed to do.

Polaris roamed around the room smiling at new faces. She radiated some sort of power which made the sea of people part as she walks through. She kept seeking for another person when someone else approaches her. Finally, her eyes land on a familiar pair of glasses covering hazel-colored eyes.

Her smile was real this time as she rushed towards him. The dress robes he was wearing fitted him perfectly. He looked different from what she was used to but he was good-looking either way.

"Hello, James." When all he did was stare she called him again. "James?" she gave a short nervous laugh. "Look, sorry I didn't tell you I was-"

"You look beautiful," James breathed out, as if he just finally caught his breath.

"Thanks. You look beautiful too... I mean handsome! I meant handsome. Sorry," she panicked. 'You look beautiful too? Really Polly? Oh Merlin...' she thought, scolding herself.

"What? You don't think I'm beautiful?" James joked. He gave a look of mock hurt to which Polly gave a more care free laugh, which sounded purely angelical in his ears. 'Blimey! I missed her.'

"So..." she started.

"So..." he replied.

Polly bit her lip. She was still nervous of what he thought of her. Now he knows she is his Sirius' little sister. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"I understand," he said truthfully, "but you have to make up to me. Would you care for a dance, Ms. Black?" And by coincidence, music of some waltz started to play.

"Would it be alright for Sirius?" she asked anxiously while looking around for her other brother. "Where is he anyway?"

"Oh, he just left to get food."

"So, he's ignoring me?"

"No," he quickly dismissed her thought, "No. He promised to talk to you tonight. And he also approved of letting me dance with you. So, shall we?"

The gray eyed girl took a deep breath and took his hand. "We shall," she grinned back. James led her to the empty dance floor and began swaying to the music. His hands on her waist. Her arms around his shoulders.Polly lost her breath. James' heart skipped a bit. Everything seemed to fade away. The judgemental looks people where giving didn't matter. It was such a mushy-gushy moment.

A few more couples joined the dance floor. But no other approached the two, even though they would have wanted to dance with the mysterious and beautiful Polaris Black.

"How many secrets are you hiding, Polly Bear?" James finally teased after a few minutes of silent dancing. A couple of images and thoughts went on Polaris' mind. So many secrets left untold. 'How many does he have?'

Polly smirked at him, "Are you sure you want me to answer that question, Mr. Potter?"

"Mr. Potter?" he gave an offended look. "You make me feel old."

Polly scoffed. "How many do you have?" she countered back. James smiled sadly at his dance partner. 'So much. But I can't tell you.' He thought of his best mate being a werewolf. And being an illegal animagus, along with the rest of his friends. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. It's just that he didn't really, reeaalllyyy know her yet. And it wasn't his story to tell.

Slowly, they finally went back to their natural way of talking. Comfortable. With less squeals and giggles, of course. They had their childish banter. A few name callings. And story telling about their embarrassing moments in their life.

"You puked all over Mrs. Malfoy's dress? Cooolll!!" James said excitedly. He gave the laughing girl a quick spin before pulling her back into his arms. "What was it like?"

Polly started to retell her experience when a loud cough made them pull apart. And there stood behind them, her twin brother, Regulus... who had a firm grip on the arm of her other brother, Sirius. It looked like Regulus had dragged the older boy from the buffet table into the dance floor.

"Reg, let me go," Sirius frowned as he tried to peel his arm away.

But Regulus only ignored him. He turned to face his sister, "If we don't talk now, we won't talk ever." Before she could say 'What?' she was whisked off again by him. "Sorry, Potter. I'll bring her back later. Sibling talk and stuff," he called back to the amused boy. James was looking at his best mate, who was silently pleading for help but was only given a not-so-encouraging thumbs up.

=O=

"Well, isn't this awkward," said the annoying painting of some long forgotten ancestor stuck to the wall. The three Black siblings turned to glare at him. They weren't talking at all when they left the party. In the quiet room they found in the Manor, they only stared at each other. Most of the time the twins would argue with each other through their eyes, which Srius thought to be amusing.

Being the Gryffindor, Sirius took the brave step and finally talked. "H-hi..."

Polly gave an amused laugh and a sigh of relief, "Hi, Sirius. It's- it's really great to finally meet you. I've always wanted an older brother. Well... I had him," she pointed her thumb at Regulus' direction, "but he's annoying. You know?"

"Oh, I know," Sirius grinned back at his sister, "I've lived with him for years. All he's been is a bothersome prick."

"Hey!" frowned the boy being talked about, "I'm not letting you guys meet each other just to make fun of me."

"But isn't that what siblings do?" cooed Polly, patting his cheeks playfully. Sirius was starting to like her. He always thought she was prim and perfect like what his Mother wanted but she was like him in many ways. Other than being a Slytherin, that its. Oh! And being a girl.

The Gryffindor had a lot of questions but he didn't know how to ask. So he started with the first thing that came into his mind, "So, why's she do it?"

"Who? what?" replied Polly, too quick to be categorized as innocent.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Walburga."

"Mother," the other boy hissed to correct him.

"She's not my mother anymore."

"She raised you as her son. You should show her some respect."

"Well, I'm disowned. Remember," he narrowed his eyes, stepping dangerously closer to him.

"Only because you ran away-"

"Okay!" Polly placed an hand on each of her brothers shoulder. "Calm down. We are NOT talking about that. Let's just try to answer Sirius' questions and you know... get to know each other?" she said it in a pleading voice. Not only Regulus felt compelled to listen to her but Sirius as well. He realized that even though they haven't really met yet, he still wanted to keep his sister safe and happy. The two boys sighed and stepped back from each other.

"Let's start from the top," she suggested. "Hello, everyone. I'm Polaris Irma Black." After the other two reintroduced themselves lazily, she quickly thought of a new topic of discussion that will hopefully not lead the two older ones into another argument. "You have a lot of questions right?"

"Yes," Sirius sighed. Another question. 'Try something less offensive. Okay Padfoot? Tsk! How would I know what is offensive or not? I don't even know her. Or even Regulus, for that matter, since he's bloody changed a lot.'

"Where... where have you been?" he asked carefully. He kept his eyes on his newly shined shoes, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. 'That's not offensive, right?'

"I've been living with Amelia Pitch. You know her, right?" When Sirius nodded, she continued. "You also know what she can do?" Another nod. "Okay, sooo I'm like her." Regulus looked at her cautiously then to Sirius. But Sirius remained to look lost.

"Like her?" he asked.

"I'm-"

"Polly! Are you sure it's fine to tell him?" Regulus guardedly whispered, but the long haired boy heard anyway and felt slightly offended.

"He's family, Reggie," she pointed out, "Disowned or not."

"I'm sorry. You're what?" Sirius asked, curiously impatient.

The young girl looked around to make sure no one was listening in to their conversation, "Alright, this is a family secret. Okay? You shouldn't tell anyone," Sirius kept nodding, "Not even the Marauders." That is when Sirius knew it was serious. He stopped nodding but gave a quick promise.

When Polly whispered her biggest secret into her eldest brother's ears, the boy shot up and screamed, "You're a what?!"

"Shhhh!" the others glared, looking around as if someone might hear them.

"Sorry," Sirius whispered again, "You're a what?"

Polly sighed, "I already told you, Sirius. You know now why it has to be kept a secret."

Trying to stuff so much more input into his brain made Sirius' head hurt. He rubbed his temples, "If others found out, it would most likely reach the Deatheathers and then Voldemort. They'd come for you."

Regulus felt the steady tension between them so he reach to wrap his arms around his younger twin. "We could talk about something else if you like," he asked softly. After they agreed, they fell into a less serious conversation. They started to find out a few bits and pieces about themselves. Sirius and Regulus never had a civil conversation in forever and both felt glad to, even for a short time, go back to what they once where.

Suddenly, a loud crack made them freeze on their place. Only to relax when a soft mutter of 'blood traitor' was heard from a familiar creature. "Kreacher," greeted Polly. Sirius only groaned at the appearance of the annoying house-elf.

"Mistress Black ordered Kreacher to fetch Miss Polaris. Miss Polaris must go back to the party or Mistress will be upset."

"It seems our fun had ended, kids," Polly smiled with her fists on her waist. In her dress, Sirius though she looked cute and childish. He couldn't believe he missed growing up with her. And now, he may have to wait for a long time to get the chance to talk to her again.

=O=

After a quick farewell, they all went on their separate ways. Polly resumed looking for James. Along the way, she met up with Regulus, who had found their friends: Barty, Tori, and Percy, but she quickly excused herself from them. When she finally found James, he was talking to some other girls. It might have been just a friendly greeting but something twinged in her heart. Jealousy? 'Why on earth would I be jealous?' Polly though to herself incredulously.

She started to make her way to the bunch when someone grabbed her wrist. In pure instinct, she turned around with a fist ready to punch, which was not ideal since they were in a private setting. But to her shock and disappointment the person had caught her other wrist.

When Polly turned to face the person, she could not believe her own eyes. "Alexander?" she gasped. Alexander Nott, her friend from childhood friend, had come back from America. It has been years since they last saw each other, but she still recognized him. He still had his properly ridiculous, combed back, brown hair, his blue eyes, and his annoyingly smug smile. And of course, he was now so much more taller than her.

"You haven't changed a bit."

Alex chuckled, "Yet you've grown more beautiful than the last time I saw you," he raised her left hand which he was still holding and gave it a soft kiss. "Hello Polaris. May I have this dance?"

When Polly hesitated, he gave her a pleading look, "Please. For old time's sake?"

She smiled, "Okay, but just once. I promised my brother a dance." And as she was being led to the dance floor, she didn't notice a stag-spirited boy staring at her longingly.


	10. Chp 10 : Pure-blood Customs

When Polaris came down to the living room early in the morning after the ball, she knew something was off. Her parents where there. They were talking in hushed voices but immediately stopped when they saw her arrive.

"Polaris. Come here," her Mother sternly commanded with a wave of her hand. Polly first turned to her Father, who gave a nod of encouragement as he left the room, before going to sit beside her on the couch.

Walburga took Polly's hands with a firm grip, which was less than comfortable. Many panicking thoughts came to Polaris. And started arguing with herself in her mind.

'Oh, Merlin's beard! She's angry!'

'You don't know that. Maybe she's just... slightly upset of last night...'

'Maybe she saw me with Sirius.'

'But she's always cranky,'

'Probably it's because I was with James...'

"You were wonderful last night. Many of the guests were very pleased with your company," the old woman interrupted her thoughts. 'Oh... she's not mad after all,' Polly inwardly sighed. "And it led me thinking," she continued, "Since most of the single, young, pure-blooded men seem to have taken interest in you..."

"Mother," the young girl said in an alarmed tone. 'She IS mad. She IS mad!' She knows were the conversation was going.

"...I have personally given a select few a chance to court you."

"I'm only 15 years old!! You can't just enter me into a courtship before I'm of-age. And without my permission!!" Polly argued with rage.

"Don't you dare raise your voice at me," her Mother said furiously while tightening her grip on Polly's hand, making the poor girl flinch. This would definitely give her a light bruise.

"Sorry, Mother," Polly gulped. Walburga loosen her grip but had not let go.

She was now forming a mask on her face, like how Regulus did sometimes in the presence of their parents. She still stared at her Mother with fear hidden beneath her mask. 'This can't be happening.'

"It's a pure-blood tradition. Be thankful you get to choose who among them would be allowed into your courtship. I have only selected two young men from two of the most respected pure-blood families. Whoever you will choose would be perfect for improving the status of our Noble Family."

When she was not satisfied with reaction of her daughter she added with a softer tone, "You won't get married immediately, Polaris. We just want to start making good connections with either of them. To give a good first impression," Polaris only nodded, 'There's really no getting out of this.'

"I have also arranged a date for you and whoever you choose tonight."

Polaris widened her eyes, "A date? Tonight? I have to choose now?" In her mind, she was already screaming, 'Hold up! Rewind!! Bloody hell!'

"Yes," there was a slight pause from Lady Black when she looked at her daughter in the eyes. "Alexander Nott or James Potter?"

'Oh bloody hell!'

O=

"How in the world did Mom and Dad even agree to this?" Sirius asked in an exasperate tone, as he chucked another kernel of popcorn at James. James was pacing back and forth his room for an hour after finding out about the courtship proposal when his Dad had received a letter as they were finishing their lunch.

Remus was sited on James' bed right across from where Sirius was sited on a small couch. He arrived early in the morning at Potter Manor and had witnessed the whole drama over lunch. He was currently watching his other best mate pace. Between finding about Sirius' sister and now this, it was too much to handle.

"So, this is really a 'formal' courtship?"

"I don't know. Blimey, Padfoot stop throwing your food at me," he rubbed his temples, "This is madness."

"I know!" the popcorn eating boy exclaimed from his seat.

"She chose ME!"

"We know, James," Remus said softly.

"She chose me over that Nott guy she was dancing with, last night," James whispered to himself.

"Is that the only thing that's bothering you?" Sirius huffed, hearing the other boy's words. "How are you not panicking about the fact that you are a 16-year-old boy about to enter a freaky formal pure-blood courtship with a 15-year-old girl?"

"Who is also the sister of my best mate..." James continued for him. He groaned loudly as he plopped onto his bed, next to Remus. "Why is this happening to me?" his muffled words reach the other boys' ears.

Remus and Sirius looked at each other and rolled their eyes at the moping boy. Sirius joined the two on the large bed and poked James' ticklish side. The raven haired boy only groaned, too stressed with his situation at the moment.

"Look Prongs, she chose you. Okay?," prodded Remus. "If you refuse, you'd be rejecting her."

"Hmmm," sounded Sirius with a thoughtful expression, "I never thought of it that way. Hey James!" Sirius jumped on the other boy's back. "Yeeeessss?" James replied sorrowfully, as he was being pinned down by Sirius. "I know you could be an arse sometimes-" "What?" "- and even though I think of you as my brother I will still skin you alive if you hurt her."

"You know I would never hurt her, Padfoot," James pouted, offended. He started to sit up, making Sirius fall from his back on to the floor with a loud yelp.

Remus rolled his eyes at James. "Oh deer, I think he's in-love," he teased, "Wait. Won't your date tonight be held in this boring, fancy restaurant?"

Sirius rose from the floor expecting James to be groaning again. But was amused to see that his best mate was grinning ear to ear.

"I have a plan," James jumped up from the bed and quickly rushed out of the door leaving his two confused friends to wonder what in the world he was planning to do.

"Those four words always frighten me," sighed Remus.

O=

"So you've got a boring date in a boring place?"

"Set up by boring people," added Polly. She was now again scouring through her wardrobe. Regulus grinned at her comment. "Don't let Mother hear you," he warned playfully earning a soft chuckle. Being in the solitude of Polly's room, they were free to fool around. No one can hear them anyway.

"I mean, it's like yesterday night wasn't already tiring enough," she groaned.

Regulus jumped up from his place on her bed and joined his sister to her overflowing wardrobe closet. He slung an arm around her. "Why don't you go sit down for a while? Between me and you, I'm better at fashion," he said with a wink. He paused to watch Polly dive into her bed before going over every dress she owns.

"I hope James makes it better. The date, I mean," Polly sat up with a sorrowful look, "Unless he's mad at me."

Her brother didn't look back at her, so she didn't see him roll his eyes. 'Oh joy. She's panicking again about that Potter boy.' His eyes rested on a single dress from the bunch. So, he finally turned to look at her with crossed arms after giving into Polly's whining. "He'd be mad to be mad at you. And why on earth would he be mad?" He shook his head.

"Merlin's beard, Reggie. He'd be mad at me for all this," she waved her hands frantically in the air, "This set up. This pre-arranged marriage. They say that they're still thinking about it. Oh, I hope the Potters would see sense and finally say 'No' to this nonsense."

"So, you don't want to be pre-proposed to him?" Regulus raised his eyebrow in question, "Or you want it to be Alex instead?"

"That's not what I said," argued Polly.

"Of course," Regulus scoffed, "And if you chose Alexander, you'd be panicking about him and what he thinks by now, instead of James."

A puzzled expression suddenly grew on his face. "What?" Polly asked quizzically. "It just came to me. I mean, how in Merlin's unshaven armpits did Mother and Father convince Mr. and Mrs. Potter into entering their own under-aged children in a courtship. I didn't think they were into pure-blood customs as deep as arranged marriages."

"I read somewhere that some time ago, a few years back maybe, in pure-blood traditions, witches and wizards should be of-age when beginning a courtship. They aren't allowed before that, even though they have been arranged for marriage even before they're own birth or conception."

"But Mother gave you a choice," Regulus reminded her, "And you chose James. You chose him over your own childhood friend?" With the dress in hand, he walked to where she was moping with the upper half of her body dangling off the bed.

"I don't know," she slumped.

"It'll be fine, lil' sis. But if he hurts you-"

"You'll butcher him yourself," she cut him off while shaking her head, "You always say that."

"Because I really will," Regulus said pointedly. "Here. Try this," he presented to her the chosen piece of clothing. She didn't take it from him but only rolled in her bed onto her back.

"I'm still sore from dancing all night, last night," she wiggled her toes at Regulus and gave him an innocent smile. The boy rolled his eyes once more before putting down the dress he was holding beside her then moving to where her feet lie.

As Regulus propped her small sore feet on his lap and began massaging, she looked again at the dress he had chosen. It was simple but elegant. And thankfully not Slytherin themed again. It was kind-of knee length or something. She was thankful for his fashion advice, compared to her 'what-ever-you-bring-me-I-will-just-wear-it' kind-of fashion.

She didn't dwell on how the dress would fit her for now. Or even the date that would happen in a few hours. Since she remembered something she'd been meaning to ask her brother for a long while now. But she must do it strategically, as to corner him in the room.

"I owe you for this," Polly smiled, looking up at him.

"You owe me a lot of things," he said as he continued to massage her calves.

"Thanks, Cub."

With a hard pinch on her foot, Polly gave a help of surprise followed by laughter. "Don't call me a cub," Regulus muttered but with flaming cheeks.

Polly rolled her eyes, "I heard Barty call you that and you were fine by it. And I must ask, since I always keep forgetting..." she paused, pulling her feet from Regulus. She cross her legs and sat in front of him while firmly holding his arms. "Is there... anything going on between you and Barty?"

"Something going on between me and-" Regulus flushed, "Bloody hell, Polaris!" He jumped away from her and started to pace on the room. "We're both boys!"

"So?"

"'So?'? Polly, that is very wrong! That is a million times wrong!"

"Says who?" she challenged.

"We're friends. Okay? We're just friends." Polly might have believed him for a moment but she could always see through her twin's mask. The look on his face says differently from his own words.

"But you like him," she whispered comfortingly to him. It was a statement, not a question, but he finally gave a small nod. With his head hung low, he began to weep of relief. Relief of finally getting it off from his chest and finally telling someone a secret he's been denying fro years. The two siblings moved towards each other for an embrace, with Polly smiling proudly for her brother.

It seems that the 'perfect pure-blood son' of Walburga Black may not be so 'perfect' after all.

O=

Author's Note

Hi guys!! Thanks for reading my story. The next update may come up a bit late since exams are coming up. I'm so sorry about that. Anyway... I wasn't sure if I was going to go through with the plot I just set up in this chapter but I decided to do it anyway. Let me know what you think. :)


	11. Chp 11 : Fun at the Carnival

"You can do this, Jamie," the hazel-eyed boy quietly muttered to himself, "It's just gonna be like hanging out in the library... only in public..." Even with his words of encouragement, James continued to pace at the front porch of Grimmauld Place. Walburga had given him very specific instructions on how the date would go but he didn't bother listening. She didn't even bother inviting him inside to wait for his date.

"Can you just-" Regulus groaned in annoyance. Both of his hands were clawed towards James as if only preventing himself from strangling him. "Stop pacing. You're driving me crazy."

"Yeah. 'Cus the only reason for me pacing around is to drive you crazy," he snapped back turning around again to pace.

"She'll be down soon," Regulus gave a soft sigh as he leaned on the doorway. He had come down after his mother left James outside. His eyes were slightly puffy but neither his mother nor James noticed. "She probably finished getting ready half an hour ago. She's probably staring at herself in the mirror looking for something wrong. Or maybe she's making ridiculous faces to amuse herself before gracing us with her-"

"Glorious presence?" Polly cut him off as she pushed him from the doorway. She smiled awkwardly at James when she finally walk outside.

"I'm definitely blessed by your glorious presence," James smiled back. "M'lady," he started to bow dramatically but Polly quickly punch him on the shoulder. "Oww!"

"You. Stop." She playfully wagged her finger at him. She then turned back to her brother for a quick farewell.

That's when James took his time to look at his date. Polly wore a simple dress. Simple but still elegant. It was snug enough at her waist to show her slight curves. It was beautifully patterned like the dark blue night sky. The skirt flowed down from her hips to just below the knees, showing flawlessly pale legs which were held into similarly colored stilettos. The dress was nothing like anything James has seen before. Especially, the slim, black-haired, gray-eyed girl wearing it gracefully.

Regulus swiftly placed a lovely white fur coat on her before pushing her away towards James. "Have fun, love birds," he called as they walked away from the house. He realized his mistake after he yelled, he quickly checked inside their house if his Mother heard him shouting but, fortunately, she did not. The other two rolled their eyes at the boy but waved back nonetheless.

After wordlessly walking by the side walk for a minute, Polly realized James was holding a small sized bag in his arm.

"What's that you're holding?" she nodded to the bag and turned to look at him while walking.

"It's a surprise!" James grinned, walking faster.

"I hate surprises," Polly frowned. She crossed her arms at the him and huffed.

James turned to step in front of her but continued to walk backwards. "Well.. you're getting one anyway, missy." He then wagged his finger towards her before turning to look where he was going.

"Missy?" she raised her eye brow, amused.

"Sorry," he shrugged, "it slipped out." And at that moment, James clumsily slipped on an icy step on the side walk, not being able to catch himself with the help of the lamp post right by his side.

"Well, it seems that you've 'slipped out'," Polly smirked as she helped him up from the snowy ground. "Haha. Very funny," he said rolling his eyes, but his cheeks were starting to turn red with the possible excuse of the cold instead of embarrassment.

When he got back up and dusted off most of the snow, he started leading the way again. "Hey! Stop walking so fast!" Polly panted as she ran after him, "I'm wearing heels, James."

James finally slowed down with a mutter of an apology.

"So, where are we going again?"

"We're supposed to go to this fancy restaurant your mother had reserved for us," James started to smirk, "but I may or may not have had my best mates pay off the staff to cover for us."

"Really?" Polly yelped in excitement. "Wait, wait, wait," she frowned, "What if Mother found out?"

"She won't," reassured James, as he took her hand and lead her to a bench. He placed down the bag he was holding and proceeded to take the items out.

"Muggle running shoes?" question Polly, "That's my surprise?" she said incredulously.

"It's just plain muggle shoes. And that only a part of it. Here," he knelt down beside her and took off her stilettos to replace them with the shoes.

"You know I could have put them on myself, James," Polly said wiggling her feet inside the much more comfortable footwear. She started to think how foolish she looked wearing a dress and shoes at the same time but she was forcefully pulled to her feet by James as he dashed towards a very public place.

"A muggle carnival?" gasped Polly. 'Oh no. I can't be seen here.' "James, it's night and it's snowing!" she argued while pointing at the dangerous rides.

"That's what I love about muggles. They're all in for the fun," James beamed as he began to pull her closer to the entrance.

"They're reckless," she pulled back her arm away from him. She shook her head, not really wanting to risk being seen by anyone who knows her.

James looked back at the shivering girl and sighed. 'This may not be a good idea after all,' he thought, 'but she still needs to loosen up a bit.' "If this is because of the courtship thing-"

"It's not," Polly shook her head vigorously, "I couldn't care less about that stupid courtship. But James, this," she gestured to the carnival, "is not my element. I'm not really comfortable going in there and-"

"Having fun?" James countered. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Polly," he smiled, encouragingly, "Even the roller coasters are closed. And it's not even snowing that bad. Let's have some fun!"

'Once in a life time opportunity, Polly. Take it or leave it,' she thought. "Hump fiinnnee..." she sighed, shrugging of his hand from her shoulder.

James gave a loud cheer and started to run towards the carnival. When they finally got inside, it was a whirlwind of sweet smells and joyous noise. Christmas carols were being sang by a group of children on a small stage. But Polly smiled at the cute family having fun at a game stall. The father was trying to get his adorable daughter the big unicorn stuffed toy. The smile of each of their faces was heartwarming.

"Hey, you want some popcorn and candyfloss?" James shouted over the noise. "Sure," Polly replied. She was led by James towards the food stand and away from the cheery family who had just won the big fluffy toy.

After wolfing down their food, they began competing with each other at a game stall where you have to throw balls at hoops. James, being a chaser, scored a lot more than the un-athletic Polaris. But of course, the prize was given to Polly anyway. It was ironically, a stag stuffed toy, with soft squishy prongs. James laughed so hard at this but he laughed even harder at Polly, who had no idea why he was laughing at all.

They played until they were tired. And after ordering another bag of popcorn, they walked towards the line for the ferris wheel. "Really going for the romantics, huh?" Polly teased her companion. To avoid saying anything stupid, James just stuffed his face with more popcorn, earning a giggle from her. But when they were finally buckled in the ferris wheel, she was stiff as a log.

"You okay?" James asked worriedly.

"Heights," was the only thing she could muster as the muggle contraption began to move.

James worriedly took her arm and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Just try not to look down. Hey, look there," he pointed at the big clock tower at a distance, "It's Big Ben." Polly raised her eyes to look at the wonderful structure she had only seen from the ground.

"It's almost midnight," she whispered, turning slowly to face him with a small smile. "It's almost Christmas."

James' eyes widened as if he remembered something. "Shouldn't we be sleeping right now? You know, so that we won't see Santa give our gifts?"

"You really believe you haven't been naughty for the whole year?" she playfully nudged him when he pouted, "Plus, you really believe in Santa?"

"Wait," James started, mock offended, "You don't... believe in Santa?"

"I didn't say that," she turned away with a grin on her face. She looked at the clock tower again. One minute until December 25. "Anyway, shouldn't we just close our eyes and let Jolly Old Saint Nick work?"

"Alright then, close your eyes,"James whispered with something different in his tone. But Polly was oblivious to that fact. She peacefully closed her eye and relaxed. She could only hear the noise from the carnival below and the uneven breathing of her date.

Suddenly, there was a cold finger on her chin, turning her face to the side. "Close your eyes," a soft voice whispered. She could already feel the warm breathe of the raven-haired boy on her face. Their noses where touching. Something was churning inside her stomach as her cheeks began to warm up. Not a moment to soon, Big Ben was ringing indicating midnight. "Happy Christmas," Polly breathed out before James finally captured her lips with his.

Polly was inexperienced and awkward but James made her feel comfortable. The slight swinging of the cart was ignored by the acrophobic girl. And the cold breeze was nothing to the warmth and comfort the kiss gave to both persons. At first, the kiss was small. But then it grew bigger, and more intense. Polly let her hand wander along James' already messy and tangled hair, while James pulled her closer by her waist.

Their sudden movements made their cart give a sudden jolt. Polly yelped and pull away fearfully from the kiss but still clung onto James. Both were breathless. Polly's face was still flushed and her heart still raising. Though she couldn't see how James was reacting, she could feel his equally pounding chest.

James gave a soft cough to compose himself. "Uh, Polly, I think it's our last turn on the ferris wheel," he said pointing at the operator who was signing at them to get ready.

"Right," Polly pulled away and sighed. She though it was going to be awkward after the kiss but James' hand was still holding onto her. She smiled as he gave her hand a soft kiss.

"Thank you and Happy Christmas," she waved at the nice muggle operator of the ferris wheel. "So," she turned to James, "back home?"

"What?" James smiled, "You just kissed me and now you want to run back home?" Polly rolled her eyes, "Don't you mean that 'you' just kissed 'me'," she corrected.

"Come on," he ignored her last statement as he pulled her close by her waist. In close proximity, Polly realized she was shorter than James and she had to look up to face him. "I have another surprise." He softly kissed her eyelid before leading her towards the nearby woods.

The walk was terrifying but with the Gryffindor boy by her side, she felt safe. The walk to their destination was surprisingly short. And the destination was surprisingly placed.

"I wasn't aware there was a waterfall here," Polly stated, confused. She stepped closer to the edge of the pit and looked down. She shivered at the sight. There was a hundred, or more, feet drop to a lake with sharp boulders and an electrifying waterfall at the side.

"Well, this portion of the forest was magical warded from muggles for their own safety."

"But..." coaxed Polly.

James returned a smirk, "The Marauders stumbled upon this beauty when we were running through these woods about a year ago."

Polly rolled her eyes, "Of course you did."

"But now," James faced her, "we're all alone again," he said, leaning close to her for another kiss. Just as their lips were about to meet, Polly quickly pushed James to the ground. A bright orange curse ripped above them, where they were standing a few seconds ago. "I guess we're not all along after all."

"Deatheaters," Polly hissed into his ear. She promptly took out her wand and managed to block the second curse. James was a bit slow, so when the third curse was aimed at him it stunned him. Then, it felt like the time slowed down. The stunner made him trip and the next thing he knows, he's falling down the pit.

"James!!" Polly screamed. In total desperation, she threw away her wand and reached down into the power inside her. The air in the area began to blow upward, slowing down James' fall. The water from the waterfall floated towards the wide-eyed boy and carried him back towards the ground.

As the water was approaching, Polly turned back to the lone Deatheater who was abandoned by his partner. Vines came up from the ground and wrapped around his wrists and ankles. A spark of fire was circling the wizard lessening the oxygen inside the ring.

"Polly!" James yelled as he ran towards her with her wand in his hand. "Polaris stop! He's dying," he looked at the gasping wizard in horror. But Polly couldn't hear him. The power was consuming her. "Polly, please stop," the boy cried out as he grabbed her hand. This made Polly lose her focus and the circle of fire diminished completely.

The Deatheater was only knocked out but Polly was terrified. Terrified of herself. "I'm sorry," she said repeatedly, gasping at the loss of power, "I can't control fire like the others."

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

=O=

"An elemental, you say?" a handsome, red-eyed wizard asked looking down at his messenger.

"Yes, My Lord," the Deatheater bowed. He was the one to leave behind his comrade by the waterfall. "She was with a boy."

"I don't care about the boy, you fool!" snapped the wizard. Crucio! "Now, tell me about the elemental."

The Deatheater whimpered in pain before replying, "I recognize her, My Lord." The red-eyed wizard lead in in anticipation. "Well?" he raised his brow. "It's Black's youngest child. The student of Amelia Pitch."

"Recruit her for me."

"But she's so young-"

"Did I stutter, Lucius? Bring her to me."

=O=

Author's Note

Okay, I lied.

I lied that this chapter will be posted late. Our exams went by surprisingly fast and I even found time to write this. Hope you enjoyed it! I'm not really good at writing romantic stuff so... let me know what you think.


	12. Bonus Chp : Christmas with the Renegades

"He's got the charm. I give him that," said Victoria to Polly with an amused smirk. Their whole gang, minus Severus, was hanging out in Regulus' bedroom after escaping the Christmas Ball that was happening in the Malfoy Manor. Walburga almost threw a fit when her twins asked to stay home instead. She thankfully calmed down when she found out that the rest of their friends were coming over. 'Better way to form alliances,' she might have thought.

Polly and Tori were having a bit of girl talk about the date with James, excluding the part with the Deatheaters of course since she can only talk about it with Reggie. The boys were listening in and sometimes even rolling their eyes.

"But you didn't talk when walking home?" Polly shook her head. "Girl, why?" Tori prodded. Not wanting to talk about it, she just shrugged.

"Even I know communication is key," Percy butted in, swinging his arm around Tori. "You didn't even know him before you came."

"You guys always say that," Polly frown leaning back to lay on Barty's outstretched leg, "yet you never tell me how he's an... arse."

Barty shifted a bit on the bed. He looked at Regulus before saying, "All he ever did was prank-" "Bully..." corrected Tori. "-people then strut around the whole school acting all high and mighty. And then there's last year with Severus, you know, before he really started hanging out with us he was friends with this mudblood Potter liked and-"

"I don't think it's a good time for that. And I'm sure Sev wouldn't be too happy to find that we are talking about him when he's not around," interrupted Regulus, avoiding their stare.

"Softy," mocked Tori as she playfully pinched Regulus on the cheek.

"The point is," started Alex, who was sitting cross-legged beside the bed, right across from Polly, "you don't really know him. And what if he's using you just for your brilliant pranks?"

With ever second that passed, doubt started to cloud Polly's mind. Regulus saw her frowning. "Watch it, Nott," he growled at Alexander. "I'm just saying, man!" he raised his hands in surrender.

"You idiots are so pathetic," Tori rolled her eyes. She then gave Polly a look, shaking her head from side to side.

"Come on, people, lighten up. It's Christmas!" Barty patted Polly to make her sit up. He then motioned the others to join them on the bed. "What about we play Truth-or-Dare?"

"NO!" the others said in unison, already backing away from the bed.

"Okay! Geez, relax," chuckled Barty. Regulus rolled his eyes.

"After what happened last time, I'm not taking any chances," Tori crossed her arms with a glare.

"I said I was sorry," Barty said slyly in a non-apology. He and Regulus would always give the most frightful dares.

Still glaring at Barty, she deadpanned, "You made me dress up as a house-elf and dance in front of my parents."

"It's your fault you agreed to it," Regulus grinned. Polly cover her mouth to hide her smile. The memory of that event was still ingrained in her head. Especially, since she was the one who helped her dress up.

"You said if I didn't do it you'd tell them about- you know what!!" she growled in frustration. "Stop smiling Polaris Black! I was grounded for the whole summer!" she stomped her foot, ready to lunge at the duo.

"Never have I ever?" suggested Alex before his friend could mangle his other friends. "So, American of you, Xander" Polly teased, "Let's do it!" Regulus plucked a pack of something from below his bed and placed it in the middle of their circle.

"You snuck in firewhiskey?" Barty bellowed at his best mate, "Without me?!" He only shrugged back.

"Alright! Let's go Renegades!!" Polly bounced up, opening a bottle for the game. As she sat back down she shoved Regulus over to scoot a bit towards Barty.

Tori groaned, "I still vote to rename our group." She rested her head on Percy's shoulder as she looked around the circle.

"Why?" challenged Regulus.

"I agree with Victoria. I mean, renegades mean traitors and rebels which is totally not us," explained Alex wrapping his arms around Polly, in a friendly way of course. "We need to think of another name," he said looking at Polaris.

"Yes, its tooottallly not us," Barty sarcastically countered. "Seriously, Nott, being a rebel sounds cool."

"No it's not," Percy shook his head.

"Whatever," Barty waved off. "Never have I ever..." he started, looking up to think, "kissed a dude."

Alex scoffed after chugging down a bit of firewhiskey, "Weird emphasis. You want to make the girls drunk?" The girls then chugged down theirs while rolling their eyes.

"Nah. I was just... testing something," Barty smirked, looking at Regulus.

Polly coughed a bit, blaming the firewhiskey, as Regulus blushed.

It went on for a while. They never got to enjoy themselves that much in school, or when they're under their parents' supervision. It was the most thrilling Christmas Polly had ever experienced. Finally meeting her older brother. Escaping to Muggle London. Having fun at a carnival. She would never have experienced any of it if it weren't for Amelia Pitch's death. It was her first Christmas without her.

Polly couldn't believe she had forgotten about her favorite mother figure for some time. It wasn't fair that she was enjoying life when Amelia had hers brutally taken. She shook her head and continued to focus on the game. After a couple more rounds of Never Have I Ever, it started to get boring. They knew each other too well, it seems.

"Oh come on!" Percy said, slightly tipsy, "You can do better than that!"

"Ugh!" Polly rubbed her head, "This is getting stupid."

"Can we do Truth-or-Dare now?" pouted Barty, his face falling onto Regulus' shoulder.

"NOOOO!!"

"Then let's open each others' presents."

"Yey!!"

=O=

Author's Note

Sorry this one is just a filler. Cramming projects was done and I didn't have the time to write much. Plus, I'm slowly running out of ideas... please leave some ideas and let me know what you think. Thank you guysss!!


	13. Chp 12 : Full Moon

They haven't talked since their date. James and Polaris. Not that they could write to each other without their parents' facilitation, specifically Polly's parents. And of course, not that Polly could explain what happened that night through written words.

After a few weeks, the students where finally back at Hogwarts after their eventful or uneventful holidays. James still hasn't approached Polly yet. Or maybe, Polly was just avoiding him. They're stupidly avoiding each other, one could say.

It was Wednesday afternoon when Polly was sitting in her hidden spot at the library. After the holidays, everyone was busying themselves again with schoolwork. And Polly, having finished all her homework, was reviewing in advance for their upcoming OWLs.

"I remember when I was reviewing for my OWLs. I was a train wreck," a voice chuckled softly.

"Well, that makes me feel better," Polly snapped back, not appreciating the disturbance. She could be snarky and grumpy at times when you catch her at the wrong moment. Right now... studying alone makes it seem that the notes on her parchment keep floating around. She always had a little help in concentrating on her studies. And right now, she could not get a single thing to stick in her head.

"Oh, sorry," the soft voice replied cheekily. Polly rolled her eyes when the person didn't leave. So, she internally groaned and look up. It was a redheaded Gryffindor, Lily Evans.

"Yes?" Polly inquired, putting her quill down.

"May I-," Lily bit her lip nervously. "May I sit with you?" Polly raised her brow. "All the other tables are full."

"Uh..." hesitated Polly. She looked around to check if anyone was watching them then nodded, "Sure."

Lily grinned and swiftly placed her tower of books down. "Sorry for disturbing you," she apologized while taking a book from her stack. "It's just that the whole Ravenclaw Common Room seems to have been relocated here. Not that I couldn't have just stayed in our own Common Room but it's buzzing with chattering students there. I mean, I could have stayed in our dorm room, of course, but at least here it's... um... silent. And, oh dear, the Ravenclaws seem to be having some sort of study party and they've occupied the whole blooming library."

'Merlin, this girl could talk,' thought Polly. But she amused her. "Except here," Polly grinned back. 'If mother ever found out about this, please send help. I had barely escaped her wrath when I revealed about James. Now I'm hanging out with a mud-blo- I mean muggleborn...'

Everyone seemed to know it was her spot. Though only a handful knew it was James' as well. 'Well used to be, anyway,' she thought bitterly. They've been back at Hogwarts for a couple of days yet he never came to the library.

"Yes. Except here," Lily nodded, her book forgotten by her side. Now she was eager to make conversation.

But Polly kept her book up to stare at.. "Everyone stirs clear from me," she stated. It bothered her most of the time but she managed. Slytherins, after all, aren't known to be friendly to others.

"Words out that you're Sirius Black's sister," Lily looked at Polly expectantly.

"And...?" Polly glanced at her, challenging her to make a point. Lily, in return, smiled back. She must have mistaken Polly and thought that it was an invitation of add to it.

"And James Potter's girlfriend," Lily casually flipped through her book while looking at Polly's reaction. But Polly, like Regulus, wore a mask to hide her emotions. She was shocked, yes, but then again, it's Hogwarts. Rumors travel faster than light, if you can imagine that.

"Is that why you are here?" Polly gestured to her table. She stared at Lily, emotionless.

"No- yes?- no- well no really," Lily rambled on. "You see, all the tables are occupied and I-" she looked down, flushed. "Sorry." She started gathering her books.

"No, it's fine," Polly gestured her to sit back down. She pursed her lips, "Sorry for making you think James and I are... a thing. It's just some stupid pure-blood problem. We're not really... It's complicated."

The Gryffindor leaned in and whispered, "I hope you were, though."

Polaris cracked her mask, "What?!?!" She was surprised by this. The candles beside them flickered brighter for a bit them calmed down again. Thankfully, only Polly saw this and had been able to calm the flames down, just in time before she burnt the whole library.

Lily shushed her in a playful manner. "You may have heard that Potter's been trying to court me for years," started Lily. Polly made sure to keep her emotions in check this time. She nodded.

"I kept rejecting him since I knew he wouldn't be truly happy with me. And I think you're the one for him."

"Someone who can keep up with his cra-" Lily gave her a look while tapping on her prefects badge. Polly shook her head with an amused smile. "Thanks," she finally said.

"You're the one for him IF he shows that he deserves you." The two girls grinned at each other and giggled wickedly. Girls are like that sometimes... when it comes to boys.

"So," Lily looked at Polly's scattered parchment, "You're advance reading for OWLs? Do you need any help?"

Polly sighed in relief. But stopped immediately. "Really? Don't you have homework or something?"

"I've finished them already," Lily waved off Polly's concerned look, "I was planning on reading some muggle novels but I don't mind." She then moved to sit herself beside the younger girl pulling her notes closer.

Polly was grateful. "Thanks for this. I'm horrible at studying alone. Normally James would help but..." she trailed off.

"He's in detention?" Lily asked in a good-natured way.

"Yeah," grinned Polly. She didn't want to explain that they were currently avoiding each other. And most importantly, why.

The truth is that James wasn't in detention. Or, at the moment, avoiding Polly. He was, on the other hand, getting ready to help his friend. It was a night of a full moon, after all.

=O=

After finishing dinner early, Polaris arrived at her dorm room alone. She plopped herself onto her bed. Her head was throbbing. Her heart was pounding. It's either because of overexerting herself in her studies or something wrong is going to happen tonight. She chose the former to calm herself down.

A soft chirp made her jump up from where she was lying.

"Bloody freakin' hell!" she glared at the bird perched on the post of her bed. Her brows furrowed. "How did you get here?" All the windows were closed because of the cold. And the elegant, ink-black raven was too small to handle the strong winds from outside.

"What have you got there?" she whispered to the raven as she pulled a black envelope from its beak.

Polly saw some leftover food from Tori's owl and fed them to the bird. But before she could stroke its feathers, the poor animal disintegrated into nothing. Not even a speck of ash. She yelped back in concern.

Polly shook her head and took a deep breath before opening the letter. Inside was an elegant writing. Silver on black paper. But the letter contained a not so elegant surprise. A proposal. Polly had been wrong. Something bad was happening. Something big. And she wanted no part in it.

She pocketed the pathetic letter safely into her robes. She growl in despair. She needed a walk. She needed some air.

The other student were filing into the Common Room but she passed through them and the whole crowd split to make way for her. It was plain and obvious that she was in a bad mood. Her friends knew better than to approach her.

Polaris had basically ran out of the castle. 'I shouldn't be here,' she thought, 'It's almost curfew.' But she needed a couple more minutes to calm down. She continued to walk. Remembering the last time she sneaked out at night, with James, she smiled up to the sky in submission to the memories. 'Why can't I just be brave enough to face him?'

The night sky was beautiful and magical. The full moon was up and bright. Unobstructed from any clouds. It was so peaceful. Polly froze. A growl from behind her. A howl. She slowly turned around to look. And sure enough, a not so fully grown yet still dangerous animal was there. Werewolf? Yup. She was already sweating and trembling from fear.

"It's okay," she said, she made her voice sound as calmly as she could. Wrong mistake. The werewolf pounced at her. Her legs immediately started running deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

Roots from the trees started darting to catch the growling beast in Polly's command but it was too fast. 'Just keep running,' she screamed, 'My night just keeps on getting better and better, doesn't it?'

What terrified her the most was that there seemed to be more than one creature chasing after her. With another stupid mistake, her tripped over one of her own moving plants. 'I'm going to die young after all,' she bitterly muttered to herself. It was a dark thought the Black twin always joked about.

The werewolf howled and leaped towards were she was sprawled. One of its clawed paws were digging onto her chest to keep her down. Blood was seeping through her clothes. Its razor sharp teeth were baring down towards her face.

Polly trembled. She couldn't help it, she screamed. At that moment, a great black dog pounced on the creature and pushed it off her. Polly breath out in relief but it was short lived since the beast was heading towards her again. She yelped out in fear when she felt something nagging at her back. She turned to see a majestic stag with a small rat on its head. She started to back away but the stag, unbelievably smart, motioned to its back. 'Did he want me to ride him?'

A howl was heard from behind her so she had no choice. She jumped onto the stag's back and held on to its antlers. The rat was squeaking at her but before she could look at it properly the stag started to prance away. It ran in different directions, seeming to know the forest really well.

It went on for an hour or two and the trio rested. The black dog was keeping the werewolf at bay at the moment. They couldn't get out of the forest yet. And the werewolf will catch up but for now they rested. Polly slid of the stag and looked at it with compassion. "Thank you," she pressed her forehead into the animal's own. He closed his eyes with the embrace. "You're a smart one, aren't you? You even have an unusual friend," she softly patted the rat with her fingers. She breathe out deeply. It was a cycle, a howl is heard nearby, they run towards the opening of the forest, rest for a bit, repeat.

Polly was tired. The full moon was almost over. They were getting close to the outside of the Forbidden Forest. She smiled. And suddenly she was on the dirty ground. She was thrown out very far. Her sides were scratched from the landing. She was back on her feet but the werewolf slammed her down again. She heard a bark and a heavy trotting sound coming towards them. But they were too far. Out of reach.

'This is the end,' she thought. She gasped for air but she had trouble breathing. The claws of the beast where approaching. Time slowed down. Polly couldn't even think to stop it with her magic. "Please don't hurt me," she helplessly whimpered.

Suddenly, the werewolf veered back with a howl. The sky was getting lighter. The full moon was coming to an end. The beast backed away in pain. He was shifting back. It was pitiful to see. It freaked Polly out to see the monstrous beast turn into a trembling little boy. He looked familiar. Ignoring the pain on her chest and arms, she got up. Without thinking twice, she then approached the shivering boy to comfort him.

"Remus?" she softly called out his name. She was shocked. The silent, sweet, nerdy boy was cursed to turn into a monstrous beast every full moon. "It's okay," she reached out but he shied away. He kept apologizing again and again. He was crying shamefully.

Footsteps approached them. "Bloody hell, Moony! You could have killed her!" It was James. He was angry. But Polly was angrier. She didn't even bother to question how they were there. "James, shut the hell up!"

"I'm sorry-" Remus started apologizing again. But Polly shushed him. "No, Remus. It's okay. I'm not hurt. Sirius, help him up to the Hospital Wing."

"Polly, I-"

"Not now, James. Go help Sirius and Remus," she ordered. How dare he get angry at his friend when he was obviously out of control? "Peter, help me light the way." The two casted 'lumos' and led the way back towards the castle.

When they finally placed Remus comfortably on a bed at the care of Madam Pomfrey, they collapsed into different beds beside their friend for a few winks of sleep before another school day.

James and Polly were still not talking. But that didn't matter for the moment. Polly just barely escaped from a near death experience. She sighed, 'What a night. And what a day tomorrow will bring.'


	14. Chp 13 : Fear The Truth

Early in the morning, Polaris woke up to find herself tucked into a bed in the Hospital Wing. The strict matron had sent the Marauders away as soon as they woke up. Madam Pomfrey had let Polly stay because of her injuries but she refused to get them checked-out.

Polly could have left immediately to get ready for the new day ahead but she stayed put by Remus' side. And left only to removed the blood from her cloths and to get some food. She had timed in right. When she got back from the kitchen with a hot bowl of soup, Remus was already stirring from his sleep.

"Hey," she greeted, while handing him the glass of water he was reaching for. After placing the bowl of soup on the table, she then lightly pressed the back of her hand to his forehead to feel his temperature. Thankfully, he wasn't burning up.

Madam Pomfrey nodded to Polly when she mouthed 'thank you' to her. She then helped the werewolf sit up to eat the soup. Or was it drink the soup? Whatever.

When she brought a spoonful of soup to him he said, "Polaris?"

"Yes?" She set the bowl down.

"What are you doing?" He looked worried. This was not right. She should be hating him right now. Not feeding him soup.

Polly gave an amused scoff, "I think it's pretty obvious. I'm taking care of you."

"Why?" He pressed his lips together in a frown.

"Because you're hurt." Polly gestured to the bandages covering his body.

Remus suddenly felt self-conscious. He moved to cover his scarred body only to stiffen because of the pain from his injuries. He gave a silent cry and groaned as tears started to well up in his eyes. Polly quickly moved to comfort him. She gently caressed his hair as she shushed at his tears.

"It's okay, Remus. Everything's gonna be alright."

"No," he shook his head. It wasn't because of his pain. "No no no. I hurt you." The werewolf gave a disgruntled sigh. "I'm so so sorry."

"You didn't," Polly comforted. She noticed that Remus didn't quite believe her. "Alright, maybe you did, but-" she quickly added before he could interrupt, "-it's okay. We're both going to be okay. Right?"

When he nodded, Polly smiled brightly. She picked up the soup again that she had set down and turned to feed the boy.

After a spoonful or two Remus spoke again, "You're... you're not afraid?"

"Afraid of what?" Polly innocently shoved another spoonful of soup towards him. He gave her a look. "Of the wolf inside you?" she looked at him with a thoughtful gaze. "No," she finally decided after a few seconds.

"You have a gift, Remus." Polly sighed when he turned away from her. But she always spoke her mind. She placed a hand on his to grab his attention. "You have a gift ," she repeated, "that you treat as a curse."

Polly remembered the many times she failed to control her elemental powers. She had destroyed everything in her path. She even almost killed a person last Christmas. A Death Eater, no less, but still a person. 'Monster,' she had always thought of herself that way. But, in the long run, she learned that pushing away her powers will only make it worse.

"Once you make peace with the wolf inside you, you'll be able to cooperate as one. And one day, you'll hopefully be able to control your shift," she spoke slowly as to get the message in. Not only to Remus but also to herself.

The Gryffindor didn't give a sign that he agreed or disagreed with what she said but Polly hoped he would at least think about it. It was different from the usual 'you're not the wolf, you're not the monster' speech he would get from his friends.

After Remus finished his soup, Polly gathered up the bowl and moved to leave. But Remus' hand suddenly shot up to stop her. "What were you doing out last night? It was already pass curfew," he said curiously.

"I... needed some air."

"Right..."

"Sorry," Polly looked away from the injured boy. Her gaze stopped by the door. The Marauders were walking in, obviously tired but excited to see their friend. They only slowed down when they saw her.

"It's alright. Everybody has secrets," he smiled at her cheekily which quickly turned to pleading, "Promise to keep mine?"

"I promise," and with that he gently let go of her hand. "Thank you... Polly."

With a smile she turned to the rest of the Marauders standing a few feet back.

"Polly," James started but she only smiled and motioned to Remus. He nodded in understanding. He had to apologize for last night before he could talk to her.

When she finally faced her brother, she was enveloped in a big warm hug. "Hi Sirius."

He pulled away to look at her carefully. "You sure you're not hurt?" he asked, concerned. It was weird and different for him to act like that but it felt right. Being a brother to a sister may not be as different from being a brother to a brother.

Polly shook her head. "I better get ready for class," she said looking at the clock on the wall.

Sirius gave his goofy smile, "Yeah. You look horrible." He pulled away and crossed his arms.

"Geez, thanks bro," she replied casually. She quickly realized her mistake. Calling Sirius 'bro' seemed to startle him. Well, he had time to process it during the holidays but being acknowledged as a legitimate brother by Polaris is a different story.

"I'm sorry. I mean... Sirius..." she trailed off as she corrected herself.

"No. You can call me brother when you want. You are my little sister after all." It was very endearing but when he patted her head when he said 'little' was ever so slightly offensive. Polly knew she was small but still. She had given him a hard jab at his side when she turned to leave, earning a laugh from the other Marauders.

"See you later, Polly!" Sirius called to her with a wave.

She only rolled her eyes and quickly left to get ready for the day.

=O=

Polaris was distracted the whole day. She was dozing off most of the time. And there was this harsh twinging pain on her abdomen. 'I'm starting to regret not getting checked up by Madam Pomfrey,' she though mournfully.

She had sneaked in to their bathroom before her dorm mates woke up. But the constant nagging she got from her friends, especially Victoria, was getting on her nerves.

What was on her mind? The date. The letter. The werewolf incident. The murder of her guardian. Basically, a lot of things.

Fortunately, she didn't get caught in any of her classes. The last one she's on was History of Magic. And all the other students were dozing off as well because of their ghost Professor droning on and on and on about Goblin Rebellions, Giant Wars, and things.

As soon as the boring ghost dismissed the class, Polly grabbed her things, clutching at the mysterious letter she had received last night. She didn't know what to do, so she rushed to the only wizard that she could think of to help her, even though she couldn't bring herself to trust him.

She remembered the path to Albus Dumbledore's office from her first day. Retracing her steps, she found herself on the Gargoyle Corridor with an intimidating gargoyle staring down at her.

"Um... hi. May I pass through?" But the sapient gargoyle only stared at her. She didn't know the password. "I don't know the password but this is urgent."

After a heated staring contest between her and the large, ugly, stone gargoyle, she accepted defeat and turned away to walk back to her dorm room to rest. The sound of grinding stone brought her attention back to the gargoyle who suddenly moved to reveal a stair case leading up to the headmaster's office.

"Professor Dumbledore?" she greeted the headmaster. He gestured for her to come in. The sparkle in his eyes were slightly dimmer. This made Polly believe that he knew why she was there.

"Miss Black, how may I help you? Please take a seat."

"Sir. I need your help," she said as she sat down, straight to the point. The old wizard took off his half moon spectacles and set down the parchment he was reading before she came in.

"Would you care for a sherbet lemon?" he pushed towards her a large bowl of the sweets but Polly ignored him.

"Sir, last night, I received a letter," she then proceeded to recount what happened just before she left the Common Room. She brought forward the letter the mysterious black bird had delivered to her.

"It's from Voldemort. He wants me to..."

"Join his cause," Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Can you tell me how he came to know of your elemental powers?" He looked at Polly with his piercing eyes. She suddenly felt dizzy. Either the exhaustion finally caught up to her or he was digging into her mind.

She quickly pushed him from her mind and prepared to block anything from entering. She quietly thanked Amelia Pitch for teaching her Occlumency to prepare her in keeping her deepest secrets.

"Very good, Miss Black," Dumbledore praised. "I'm awfully sorry for that but I had to make sure you didn't let slip of the information from your mind."

"Of course, I didn't," Polly grinded her teeth. She reminder herself to not lash out at the wizard in front of her since he might be the only one who can help her.

"Polaris, you have to realize who you are. They are calling you 'Pitch Black'. Being an elemental is rare and can easily be seen as a weapon," he paused and gave her a meaningful look. "Sp, who else knows about this?" he held out the letter.

Polly shook her head, "No one."

Dumbledore gave a soft sigh of relief. "Alright, Miss Black, you may g-"

He was cut of by Polly bringing her fist aggressively onto his table. "NO!" she growled. The flames on the torches around them rose into the air. Her breathing became ragged and uneven.

"Polaris," the wizard started softly, "breath." He hadn't flinched once. He's probably used to aggressive, hard-headed Gryffindors anyway.

Polly gave a deep sigh bringing down the flames with her. "I'm sorry," she placed her head to her hands, "it's just... No! You can't just push me away. You can't expect me to just leave it alone. To just leave it to 'you' to handle things on your own. And you should know that I don't easily trust other people. I mean, trust is obviously not in my vocabulary."

She started pacing back and forth. The old man waited patiently until she could clam herself down. Sometimes the flames would flicker violently but would always calm down with every breath.

Polly faced Dumbledore and slammed her palms onto his table once more. She had a pleading look in her eyes, "Professor... I'm scared..."

This seemed to shock Dumbledore. His brows furrowed.

"I'm scared to make a mistake," she sobbed, "I promised myself I would never join him. I'd rather die than... than join him..." she trailed off. She though about her Amelia. The Amelia Pitch. The well respected elemental who refused to join the Death Eaters. 'I'd rather die than join him...'

The poison on her lips. The bottle in her hands. The locked doors. No one would have been able to break into their house to poison Amelia. There were wards. No one could possibly even evade her, tricked her, into drinking the draft in the first place. She didn't get poisoned by the Death Eaters.

'Oh hell, she killed herself,' Polly thought in horror. She looked at Dumbledore and the look in his eyes confirmed it.

"You knew," she said. Not a question. He shook his head to agree. But she had bolted out of the office before he could console her.

Polly ran through the corridors. Into the Common Room. Then into Regulus' dorm room.

She flung herself into her brother's arms. Regulus looked at his dorm mates coldly as to get the message to leave them. When they left she started to cry.

"Polly, what's wrong?" She shook her head. "Is it Potter?" She shook her head again.

"I was wrong. I was so wrong, Reggie," she sobbed, "she killed herself. She- she-"

"What?" Regulus was confused and scared.

"My Mama killed herself." She was shaking badly. Regulus felt her legs give in. His first thought was than she was stressed out but when he moved to cradle her he saw her blouse.

"Bloody hell, Polly you're bleeding," Regulus said in a panicky voice. Blood was once again seeping through her clothes. Where Moony had roughly held her down with his sharp claws. He knew about his brother's friend and he prayed, "Oh, let it not be that deep. Polly, stay awake. Polly? Polly!!"

And everything faded out.

=O=

Author's Note

Okay... that was dark... I think... So, I'm going to move this from T to M. By the way, thank you for your reviews!! And sorry, this was late...


	15. Chp 14 : Keep The Secrets Part 1

Regulus had quickly rushed his twin sister to the Hospital Wing that night. He ignored the concerned looks of the other students he passed while carrying holding her close. A lot of blood stained his clothes but he didn't care. All that mattered at that time was Polaris bleeding out from a large-ish werewolf scratch.

It took a few days before Polly gained enough strength to stay conscious. She would find herself fading in then fading out during those days. She remembered her friends coming to visit her. She even saw Alexander, though it might have been just a hallucination since he should have got back to America by now. She saw a hysterical Tori, surely that is not a hallucination, along with a teary Rabastan. And she saw the Marauders.

Remus stayed by her side for a hours apologizing repeatedly, blaming himself. He was still in the Hospital Wing when Regulus brought her there, bleeding and all. Regulus almost pounced at him as soon as he set her down to a bed. Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey immediately sent the Slytherin boy out of the room.

Polly remembers the werewolf's apologies and she forgives him.

She can even distinctly remember James and Sirius with bloody noses. They obviously punched their own selves as an excuse to be in the Hospital Wing just to see her for a bit.

When Polly woke up, the first thing in her mind was 'who freaking knows?'. She had hoped her own friends didn't find out about the werewolf attack. Mainly because of the 'werewolf' part. Of course, only Regulus knew about Remus. Not that Polly knows that.

She'd have to do a lot of explaining to Tori. Her best friend can be a pit pushy at times. The rest of the gang would also need an explanation and Polly can't bring herself to answer them truthfully. 'I guess I'll have to lie to them... again,' she thought with a sigh. A lot of secrets have to be kept.

Polly also woke up to hissed voices. She opened her eyes to see a slightly blurry vision of her twin brother and her... friend? Regulus and James. They seemed to be in a middle of an argument. Regulus was glaring coldly at James while James was barely keeping his hot temper. The two were at both sides of her bed and they were interrupting her sleep.

"Could you two please shut the hell up?" Polly said. It was soft and raspy but the two boys quickly quieted down and turned to her.

"Pib!" Regulus quickly sad down next to her with a concerned smile. "Are you okay?"

As he fussed over her, Polly turned to see James backing off towards the door. But he stayed inside the Hospital Wing while giving space to the siblings.

She looked at Regulus and said, "I'm alright, Reggie." She gave him a weak smile after he softly kissed her forehead.

"You didn't tell Mother, did you?" Polly furrowed her brows in worry. Regulus shook his head. He looked down then away towards the matron's office.

"Wait," she started to get up, "did you?"

"Of course not, Polly. Now, lay back down or you'll disturb your wounds," he pushed her down lightly then took her hand and caressed it with his thumb. "You know, it was awfully difficult to persuade Madam Pomfrey to not tell Mother or Father."

"What? Is your silver tongue getting rusty?" Polly teased. But she was very thankful for that. Less things to worry about.

"Ha ha. It's good to see that you've still got your humor after what happened." he grinned.

"Anyway, speaking of what happened, are my wounds..." she trailed off.

Regulus gave her hand a soft squeeze. His lips trembled oh-so-slightly as he gave a deep breath out. "Definitely a werewolf scratch. You should have let Madam Pomfrey check it out sooner. You lost a lot of blood. She said it wasn't deep enough to turn you, thankfully." Polly let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "But," Regulus continued carefully, "she said you might feel... things. Different things. Like, some changes."

"What kind of changes?"

"I'm not sure. Wolfish tendencies? Urges, probably, for meat. You'll also most likely be grumpy and cranky during the full moon." he listed off uncertainly.

Polly groaned. "Well," she shrugged, "make that two times a month then."

Regulus knew what she meant. He grimaced. He felt awkward to even think that he actually understood what she meant. But it's life, right? A girl's life, anyway.

Polly and Reggie kept talking. Though it was just a quick conversation. The basics. She told him about the truth about her guardian. That it wasn't an accidental poisoning, or even a murder. It was suicide.

"Wow," Regulus breathed out. He sat still for a moment to process the information. "And Dumbledore knew about this?" Polly nodded. "Why didn't he tell the Ministry? The Aurors?"

"I don't know. I just know that he wants to be in control of everything," Polly said, emphasizing 'everything'.

Polly let her gaze fall towards the hazel-eyed boy waiting patiently by the Hospital Wing door. He now wasn't alone. Remus was by his side looking tired but even more nervous and guilty.

"Hey, Reg. I need to talk to James," she looked away from James for a moment to give Regulus an easy smile.

He ruffled her already messy hair. "First, tell me what were you doing in the Forbidden Forest?" he said.

Polly tsked. "I'll tell you more later. And you better tell me what you and James were arguing about just a few minutes ago."

"Over a hot cup of tea and raisin-oatmeal cookies?" Regulus grinned as he stood up reaching for his cloak by the table.

"Don't you dare," Polly glared playfully at him. She stuck her tongue out and made a face.

"Kidding," he pinched her cheek, "sweet tea and chocolate chip", he corrected. "The house elves are surprisingly nice to me."

"I'm looking forward to it."

"Rest well, sister," Regulus then walked away from her and towards the two Marauders waiting anxiously by the entrance of the room.

A hopeful look was seen on James' face when Regulus approached them. Regulus had his emotionless mask once more. He nodded to Polly and said a few words which she didn't hear. But whatever it was, it was went from good then bad since James' face slid up to smile then down to a sneer in a second. She could see Remus bowing down his head in shame.

After her brother left, James exchanged a few words with Remus then turned to walk to Polly's bed. The werewolf mouthed a quick 'sorry' to Polly then turned to walk out of the Hospital Wing.

"Why did Remus leave?" Polly asked worriedly.

James shook his head, "Your brother thought it would be best for 'the werewolf' who attacked his little sister to keep away." Polly looked conflicted. "His words."

"What? But he should have though tha-"

"You want to sit up?" he suddenly cut her off.

Polaris bit her lip nervously. It was getting more awkward every minute. "Um, sure. Regulus seems to want to strap me down to this bed until I'm properly deemed as 'healed' by his own self. He's pretty great at healing, you know." She forced a chuckle.

"Oh," James ruffled his hair even more, "that's, um, nice."

Since James just continued to stare at her, she pushed herself up on her bed's backboard quite clumsily. Wrong move. Pain suddenly shot up on her abdomen, where the stitches were. She stiffened. A pained yelp came from her lip which made James' eyes widen in alarm. He promptly moved to her side and help sit up.

Polly sat there for a moment, trying to even out her breathing. Tears threatened to come out from her eyes. 'Darn, it wasn't this painful before,' she thought.

James had sat himself closely by her side on the bed. His body turned to her. He was stroking her hair waiting for her to relax after the pain. It was taking a bit longer than necessary for the it to subside, which worried him. 'Should I get Madam Pomfrey?' he asked himself.

Polly whimpered. She was focusing too much on relieving her physical pain that that's all she could thinking about. The pain. James didn't know much about healing but he remembered from somewhere that pain is produced by the brain and sometimes you can trick it into reducing the feeling.

James thought quickly. He needed to distract her mind. Make her think of something else. Without over-thinking it, his hand moved from her hair to the back of her neck, caressing her stiff jaw, he leaned in then closed the gap with a kiss. Polly gasped in surprise. Before she could kiss back, however, James pulled away keeping his hand on her cheek.

Polly was flushed but she realized the pain had stopped. "How... how did you do that?" she asked, out of breath.

"I, uh," James pursed his lips, "I read somewhere that not thinking of the pain can actually lessen the physical feeling. So, when I kissed you..." he let his hand drop from her face and looked away, "you -er- weren't thinking of it anymore"

"Really?" Polly said. Her hand moved to rest on her abdomen.

"I mean, I could be absolutely wrong since I'm not really an expert in medical stuff," James played with his sleeves.

"You could have called for Madam Pomfrey, but you didn't," she reminded him.

James ruffled his hair, turning back at her, "Well, it still worked, didn't it?" He gave her the kind of smile that's begging to look innocent.

Polly chuckled making James sigh in relief. "Yes, it did," she said, "Thank you, James." She kissed his cheek. "Now, can we talk about... stuff?"

=O=

Author's Note

Okay. I'm definitely not sticking to the schedule I set myself for publishing each chapter. It's getting later and later. I hope you didn't mind. I really didn't have much time again this week. This is a very short one. But since I still wanted to update this week, here's Part 1 hehehe. Anyway, on the upside of things, I'm finally going to watch Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald tomorrow!! Yeeey!!!


	16. Chp 15 : Keep The Secrets Part 2

Polaris laid herself down back to the hospital bed. James helped rearrange her pillows to best comfort her. Polly closed her eyes and sighed in relief when she was finally on her back. She placed her hand delicately right on her bandaged abdomen.

"Are you sure you're alright?" James asked, concerned. He sat down on the chair beside her bed and hesitated in holding her hand.

Polly took a few more breaths to dampen the slightly growing pain. After a minute, she opened her eyes and nodded. "I forgot to ask Regulus. But, um, how long have I been out?" She craned her head to look at him

"Actually, it's just been two days," James replied jokingly. "Don't worry. You only missed one day of classes. You'll have time to finish the missed school work by next week."

When Polly glared at him, he bit his lip to suppress a smile, "Oh, come on! You know that's what you were thinking about!"

A "Ssshhh!" came from a few beds down. Madam Pomfrey gestured for James to stay quiet then turned back to help a younger Slytherin boy in removing the stubborn bees that refuse to detach themselves from his skin. He had a panicked look in his eyes but he still glared coldly at James.

The prankster looked away guiltily. When he and Sirius thought of 'beehives' last Christmas, he remembered reading about a spell from Polly's spell book that makes live bees stick to your skin. They didn't think it through though. It was more of a fear-invoking spell than a laughable prank.

"James!" hissed Polly pulling away her hand from his and hitting him on his arm, "that spell is dangerous. One mistake and he could have been stung to death. I shouldn't have added that to my notebook."

"But the bees doesn't sting-" James tried to reason out but bowed his head at the sight of her disapproving look. "Sorry."

"You should say sorry to him. What has he ever done to you?" Polly looked at the poor boy who was close to tears.

"Nothing, I know. I'll do it later." Polly and James were silent for a while. They silently watched the matron patch up the last of the victims of the 'prank'.

"Next time you prank, make sure you pick something where you are absolutely sure no one would get hurt. And most importantly-"

"Don't prank you?" James cut her off. They smiled at each other, like they were sharing an inside joke.

"Yes, just don't even think about it," she warned. She never liked having her own ideas used against her. It was frustrating enough to create those dangerously amusing spells. And trust doesn't come easily to her.

"Sirius wanted to, a few weeks back." Polly snapped her eyes to him in worry. "Don't worry," James continued, sensing her troubled feelings, "I talked him out of it."

"Your wound. Is it... infected?" James asked slowly and cautiously, changing the topic to what they needed to talk about. He looked at her heavily bandaged wound then back to her glossy, gray eyes.

"I'm alright," she said plainly. "Regulus said that Madam Pomprey said it wasn't a deep enough cut to make me turn."

James sighed in relief. "That's great," he grinned, "Remus would feel better. But knowing him, he'll worry for a bit longer. He's really sorry, you know."

"Yeah, I do. Please tell Remus... tell him that I don't blame him. That he shouldn't blame himself and it wasn't his fault." James nodded, taking it down in his head.

But Polly quickly changed her mind then. Shaking her head, she said, "Actually, forget it. I'll talk to him, myself." She smiled, satisfied and pleased with the thought.

James placed his hand on her arm. "But Regulus said-".

"Who cares what Regulus said? It's my choice," she said squeezing his hand with her other hand letting it drop when she coughed then reached for her water.

"It's not too deep," she informed him after taking a sip, "but I'll feel some changes during the full moon. Thankfully, I won't become a werewolf. There's nothing wrong with being a werewolf, of course." Polly paused for a moment, thinking, then immediately shook her head. "Actually, no, there would be millions of things that could have gone wrong. But Mother's still going to kill me if she found out."

"You got that one right," James placed back the glass of water by the bedside table. He leans closer on the bed with his elbows as support, looking at her with a gleam in his eyes.

Polly pouted angrily at him and huffed to turn away.

James apologized but then said, "You'll get an awesome scar though." He grinned innocently.

"James!!" groaned Polly, in annoyed amusement. She took the extra pillow by her side and softly stuffed it to his face.

"Kidding," James chuckled putting the soft pillow down to his lap. "Jeez, you're no fun today."

"Well, maybe because I had a rough couple of days. And to add to that, I found out Amelia is-" Polly stopped herself. She wasn't ready to talk about it yet with James.

Since Polly had stiffened when she stopped, James thought she was hurting again but Polly waved him off before he could call Madam Pomprey. She breathed out deeply and relaxed once more.

"What were you saying?" James inquired.

"Nothing," muttered Polly. It wasn't his problem to deal with. It was a family problem and she needed her brother for that.

James understands her hesitation to speak so he doesn't push. Like the times Sirius had problems from their family as well. Like the time the Potters got back from the ball at Black Manor. Sirius was quiet for the whole night, obviously hurt to not be a part of the family he grew up with anymore, ignored by the mother that had raised him, refused from learning about his own younger sister, and even from being with his siblings after being sorted into Gryffindor.

After thinking of what happen before Christmas, James' thought eventually went back to the conversation they both were ignoring. The reason they started ignoring each other in the first place.

"So. You're an elemental?" James asked, though he already knew the answer to it.

"Yeah." Polly bit her lip anxiously. 'This is the reason you wanted to talk to him in the first place, why would you be chickening out now?' she scolded herself in her mind.

"That's why you were so uncomfortable with the book about elements," he continued.

"Yeah," she said again. She squinted her eyes in suspicion, "You still remember that?"

"Yeah," James blushed but covered up by lifting his hand to ruffle his hair.

"You- you're not scared?" she asked cautiously, picking up another pillow and hugging it close.

"Of you?"

"Yes, of me. If you didn't know, almost every elemental in history have gone mad with their powers. M-maybe one day I'll-" she started stuttering. James took her hand and place a gentle kiss on her palm.

"I'm not afraid," he leaned in and whispered, "I have a best friend who is a werewolf for Merlin's sake, Pib." Polly grinned.

"You want the whole story?" Polly looked down and smiled weakly.

"If you want, Ms. Black."

"Oh, I'm sure you want me to," her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Well," James chuckled quietly, "curiosity kills the stag."

"Stag," Polly whispered back, looking at him comprehensively. She shook it our for a while and proceeded to tell him about her secret life in the quickest way possible. Like a band-aid, you gotta rip it right off.

"So, I have elemental powers," she started from the top.

"Haven't we establish that alrea-" he stopped mid-way and nodded in embarrassment for interrupting her, "Right. No interruptions. Elemental powers, got it. Continue."

"Yeah... but we should..." she tapped a finger to her lips, gesturing him to quiet down. He nodded and gestured zipping his mouth shut.

"I was told that Mother and Father recognized my powers when I was 2 or 3 yrs old. Yeah, I'm an early bloomer. They had seen me burning down our entire garden. Well, I didn't really... I just engulfed every flower in fire but the stupid plants just wouldn't die. I even showered my Mother in water when she was screaming at me," Polly giggled making James grin. She didn't remember any of it but it was the story her Mama had told her. "That was also when they happily sent me away to Amelia Pitch. She's a well-known elemental. The mother figure, Regulus and I looked up to." She sighed wistfully at the memory of her mentor. Her eyes tearing up.

"She was tasked in teaching me and taking care of me. Amelia would home school me with ordinary magic when my elemental training was a success. She'd even let me out in Muggle London for an hour or so, but I'd eventually burn some thing by then. So, we avoided that." A small flicker of fire sparked on her hand but Polly fisted her palm to prevent it from spreading. Especially, since fire isn't really her expertise.

"It seems that it didn't even bother my parents when they won't be raising their own child as lady Black just that Amelia should help me strengthen my powers to be like her. Because with power, you have influence. Every time they visited me, they'd say I'd be the pride of the House of Black... but they still kept me from the outside world."

" And when she died a few months back... you know the rest. Mother allowed me to finally come here at Hogwarts to join my brothers."

"Don't tell anyone alright? I wasn't even supposed to tell you. But then-" she attempted to joke, "I took pity on your confused, unknowing expression."

"Me? Have a pitiful expression?" James played along. It was a lot to process but leaving it in an uncomfortable silence wouldn't be the best. "Excuse me missy, my face only shows awesomeness and-"

"Arrogance?" she poked his ribs. James and Polly grin at each other. Even James knew it himself that he was arrogant at times. Well, most of the time really.

James gave back the pillow he was holding on his lap and turned in his seat, "I almost forgot." She brought out a stag stuffed toy. The one he won on their date, with the squishy prongs. She forgot to take it from him when she rushing back home.

Polly laughed loudly. She shook her head. "That's the joke I wasn't getting. You were laughing your butt off back then." She rolled her eyes. "You were the stag, Sirius was the dog, and Peter was the rat?" She asked, looking for confirmation.

"Illegal animagi," James had his troublemaker smirk. Though Polly thought he looked cute instead of intimidating or troublesome. She hugged the stag toy close and pouted.

"That shouldn't be something to be proud of," she tutted. James gave her an unbelieving look, so she scoffed. "Sure. I mean, yes. That is ultimately impressive but still, if you get caught-"

"We won't get caught, Pib." He reassured. "Unless you blab."

"Of course, I won't you, ding bag!" Polly pinched his cheek hard. "Ow!" squirmed James.

"Well, all secrets are out now. Right?" he asked rubbing his cheek.

"Maybe..." Polly replied, obviously untruthful. 'I'll tell you about Voldemort's letter, next time.' she thought to him. She knows why the Malfoy's... or actually Lucius, was so insistent for her to attend their party last Christmas Day. Thank Merlin, she stayed back home with the rest of the Renegades to play childish games.

James reached into his pocket, "I have something else for you." He brought out a simple necklace. A pendant in the shape of a stag's prongs. With the word 'mischief' beautifully etched in the center.

"This," James said leaning in to place the necklace around her neck, "will reminded you to keep our secret," he joked, his fingers moving from the back of her neck to her throat then to her collar bone. Polly shivered closing her eyes. "But it's also a reminder that I trust you no matter what you chose to do. I trust you, Polaris Black. With all my heart."

=O=

After Madam Pomfrey finally discharged Polly from the Hospital Wing that night, James helped her to the Great Hall for dinner.

It still hurt but Polly was fighting through it with James' support. When they entered the packed Hall, all eyes turned to them. Polly let go of James. She swayed a bit but regained her balance and started walking, the stag stuffed-toy in hand.

James thought at first she wanted to get away from him because of the stares but instead of going towards the Slytherin table, she headed towards the other Marauders sitting at the middle of the Gryffindor table. 'Shoot, what is she going to do?' James panicked. Regulus even stood up in alarm from their table.

Polly was nearing the three boys when Remus stood up to meet her. He was frightened, to say the least, and most of all, guilty. Before he could start to apologize, Polaris attacked him with a fierce, warm hug.

The whole room was quiet. A few muttering gossipers were still heard, though.

But Polly focused on the weeping boy in her arms. She fixed Regulus with a look, as if daring him to intervene. Regulus was pulled back down by Tori and Barty. She let Remus go but still held him within arms length and smiled.

Polly turned and grabbed a fried chicken leg from the Sirius' plate. Took a bite then gestured to the confused werewolf to follow her, "Let's talk outside."


	17. Chp 16 : A Cursed Gift

Nothing scared Remus Lupin more than killing someone or worse turning someone when he's out of control. Turning someone into something like himself. A beast. A monster. A werewolf. A frightened soul. A tortured little child.

He followed the short, petite girl, who happens to be his best mate's long lost sister, out of the Great Hall, leaving the gossip filled room to their wild curiosity. Who knows what absurd rumor was spreading after they left?

A half eaten chicken leg was between the girl's teeth as they walk along the long, empty corridors. This girl also happens to be the same girl he almost mauled a few nights ago. The same one who nursed him back to health after the dreadful event. The same one who he witnessed bleeding to death from a wound he himself made.

Remus kept quiet. He wanted to apologize and beg for forgiveness but no sound came out. He was led to an empty classroom by the black haired girl who casts 'Muffliato' after the door closed behind him.

Polaris Black smiled. "So, that no one could hear us talk," she explained. She vanished her remains from the chicken and sat on a table by the front row of the classroom.

She patted the space by her side and Remus walked towards her cautiously. As he sat down, she re-positioned herself to face him. The Gryffindor gulped.

"It's okay, Remus," Polly said with furrowed brows. She noticed his discomfort the second he sat down. "I'm not mad at you."

"Y-you're not?" Remus said in disbelief. His lips quivered. Either of relief or of fright, Polly couldn't read. She shook her head.

The girl reach to comfort the older boy but he shrunk away before she could do so. "You're not scared of me?" he asked, tears building up in his eyes. He looked at her with so much emotion, Polly wanted to cry herself.

"I already told you I'm not, Remus. You're the sweetest, smartest, most passionate boy I know. You're also a mischievous prankster," she grinned at him, "And, overall, you don't frighten me." He looked at her with a weird expression. "In a good way," she added quickly.

"I mean, I'd be terrified to have a prank war with you," she continued with a chuckled, "who knows what colored robes I'd be wearing by the end of the day."

Remus chuckled softly as well. "Oh, I'm sure I'd attack your hair first."

Polly gasped dramatically. "Not the hair!" she exclaimed tugging at her own dark locks. "You must never, ever, mess with the hair of a Black. Well... unless if it's Sirius' or Regulus', then by all means."

The werewolf let out a hearty laugh and the elemental followed suit. It was a lovely moment. Unfortunately, it ended too soon when she groaned in pain and clutched her own stomach.

Remus' eyes widened in panic. 'This is my fault. I did this. I'm a monster,' he said to himself. He was afraid to reach out to her thinking she would only push him away.

Polly breathed out one last deep sigh and looked up at the concerned boy. "I'm okay."

"I'm so sorry, Polaris. This is my fault," he gestured to her. He stood up and started pacing in front of her. "This is all my fault. By being alive, I only endanger everyone around me. Especially, those who I love. I could have killed you that night. I could have-"

"But you didn't," Polly interrupted. She stood up slowly as to not disturb her wounds. "You veered back, remember? You could have taken my life but you back away at the last second." She reached for his shaking hands. "For a split second, you had the wolf under control," she whispered encouragingly.

"No," Remus shook his head in disagreement. "No, I... I don't remember that part but it's- it's probably because the full moon was ending. It was lucky timing." He pulled away, "I could never control the beast inside me."

Polly pursed her lips. She knew what he was going to say. "Don't say it," she murmured.

"I'm a monster," the boy said anyway. His head bowed down in defeat as if surrendering to the fact that he is who he is.

"And who ever told you that?" the Slytherin sneered.

"I- uh-" Remus was lost for words. Tears were slowly running down his face. He didn't know how to react to how she reacted.

"Who ever said that is an idiot," she grabbed the werewolf's arm and turned him to face her. "And I strongly believe that you're not an idiot, Remus Lupin."

The emotionally pained boy furiously rubbed away his tears. Trying not to let her words get into his head. It can't be true. She must only be lying for his own benefit. Why doesn't she hate him like he believed she would?

The emotions in her eyes shone bright. It made him look away. He still hadn't even asked the question that bothered him all day long. He was terrified of the answer.

As if reading his mind, Polly quickly pulled him into a hug. "I won't turn into a werewolf. Madam Pomfrey said so herself. You don't have to blame yourself for anything."

She said it so softly and quickly, he almost didn't catch it. But when he did, he tightened his hold on her. He breathed out a soft, shaky laugh. Tears of relief started to fall now.

"You're not a monster," she said pulling away to look at him.

"I am a monster. I still am and forever will be. No matter what you say. I almost turn you into one as well."

"If you're a monster then I'm much worse," Polly stepped back. Remus furrowed his brows at this. She sighed, "You can't turn me into a monster, Remus. Because I already am."

"No, you're not," denied the confused lycan. "Why? Because you're a Black?"

Polly smiled at him gravely. She sat on a chair by the table they were sitting on a few minutes ago. "Do you remember as a werewolf?"

"A bit," Remus admitted, "It just- it happens too fast." He sat back down on the table. "I black out sometimes if it gets too much."

"Do you remember vines attacking you?" the girl pushed on.

Remus closed his eyes, deep in thought. "Yes," he answered after a while. Polly was still looking at him. "I'm guessing that was you."

"Yes," she smiled, "that was me."

"But you weren't holding your wand. Or even casting a spell. Were you doing wandless and nonverbal magic?" Remus was intrigued.

Polly chuckled. She pushed herself to sit beside him. She raked her hand into her hair and sighed, "It's much more than that."

She was debating with herself. 'Should I tell him? I have a cursed gift as well. It's a family secret. I probably shouldn't. But I definitely should.'

"I'm an elemental," she admitted. Remus' eyes widened a fraction.

"Air, water, and earth come easily to me. But with fire," she paused and looked at her hands. She clenched them into fist. With gritted teeth, she continues, "With fire, I can lose myself. I can destroy everything around me. I'm a monster because... because I love it."

It was the first time she ever admitted it. That she loved losing control with fire.

She buried her head into her hands, "I love the power fire gives me. With a singled flick of my wrist, someone could drop dead anytime I willed it so." She snuck a look towards Remus expecting to find disgust and hatred in his eyes but held nothing but understanding.

"I've read that elementals are very rare," Remus said, as if not affected by what she just admitted. "You must be a very powerful witch then."

"Don't act like it's nothing," Polly said angrily. She looked around, away from Remus, to calm herself down. "That's not even the worst part."

"Oh?" Remus was troubled.

Polly started to tell him about an invitation, actually it was an order but whatever, from Voldemort himself. About the suspiciously ever too insistent Lucius Malfoy during Christmas. And even the attack during her and James' date.

"Have you told James?" Remus crossed his arms. He didn't ask her if she accepted the Dark Lord's invitation. He believed that, even though she is a Slytherin, she would never join the madman. If she did, she wouldn't be telling him this at all. When she shook her head 'no', Remus shook his head in return.

"Your brother?" he asked again.

"Which one?" Polly attempted to joke but it fell flat.

"Both, Polly," Remus sighed, furrowing his eyebrows.

"No," she looked away, ashamed of being a coward.

"No?"

"No," she repeated. The look in her eyes was guarded even then.

"Why not?" he asked, concern. Polly continued to play with her cloak. "You didn't want to worry them," he guessed when she didn't reply. The gray-eyed girl nodded.

"I'm sure Dumbledore will help you," Remus reassured.

But Polly wasn't having it. "No, he won't!" she argued. "I've already asked him for help. But he wants to control me like how Voldemort would if he got a hold of me."

"You don't know that." Remus was offended for the old wizard. Being a Gryffindor, he had always looked up to the wise, old man. Especially, since he accepted the werewolf to study in his school.

"But I do. I'm a weapon, Remus," she grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. It was meant for comfort but Remus only felt uncomfortable with the next thing she said. "If you can't control your inner-wolf, someone can make one into one too."

"A weapon?" the older one said incredulously.

"Voldemort seems to be rounding up different dark creatures. Getting them to his side. Using them. He'd want werewolves by his side against the Aurors, too."

"Exactly," Remus said bitterly. "Dark. I'm a dark creature. You're an elemental, dangerously neutral."

"Thanks for that," Polly rolled her eyes. She twisted and sat Indian style on the table. Remus did the same thing. Both facing each other.

"Fenrir Greyback's on his side," she informed him, "but Voldemort refused to mark him for being a 'half-breed'." Remus tensed. He stared at her with darkened eyes. A shiver went through his whole body. He hated that name. He was the real monster. He ruined his entire life. He narrowed his eyes at the girl in front of him.

"How do you know that?" he asked suspiciously.

"You'd be surprised how easy it is to get information out of Bellatrix. Especially, when she brags so openly." Polaris shook her head. She knew her cousin wanted to join the 'cause' of eradicating the world from non-magic folk. She's too much of a blood-purist not to.

Remus blushed, "Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm glad you were suspicious," she grinned at him, "there's a war brewing after all."

"And we better be in the same side," he said.

"I don't do sides."

Remus looked at the girl opposite him with curiosity. She wasn't completely like either of her brothers. He knew Sirius would easily take Dumbledore's side anytime. And basing from what his mate told him, Regulus would take the side their parents would tell him to. But this girl, she seems to have her own side to fight for.

He should have felt displeased with her reply but he wasn't. He felt comfortable talking to her. Even with their different ideals and beliefs. They both had secrets to keep. Both gifted with a cursed since childhood.

They talked a bit more about accepting who they are. Well, more of Polly telling Remus off for his self-discrimination. Along with planning to learn how to control their 'gifts'. It was almost curfew when they said their goodbyes. Remus felt changed in a way. More confident with himself yet more cautious with his surroundings. And a lot more thankful for the friends he has.

Polly and Remus had an unspoken agreement to keep each others secrets. And they parted ways to their own respective dormitory as friends.

"Hey, Remus," Polly called as they were walking away from each other, "can you please ask Lily to meet me at the library again to study. You could even join us if you like. I expect James would be too busy with detention." She knew it sounded absurd. Her hanging out with a muggleborn AND a half-blood was unheard off.

The werewolf grinned at the Slytherin, "Polaris Black, you definitely are full of surprises."

=O=

Author's Note

Hi guys! Real talk time... I almost gave up on this story last week. Yeah... I was so discouraged from something that happened. So, I gave myself one whole week to think about it. I wrote this chapter as a final one but, in the middle of the night, I thought, 'No way am I giving up now.' I might stop writing this soon, not gonna lie, but not today. Not when I just had another random idea pop up in my head (for next chapter).

Talk to you guys again soon!

P.S. Is it okay for me to not update weekly? I feel like I'm always rushing with every chapter. Plus, I'm still working on conceptualizing the next parts.


	18. Chp 17 : New and Old Friends

In the following weeks, Polly and Remus became close. Much to Regulus' disapproval. They would often meet up with Lily in the library, still hidden at Polly's table, away from the crowd. Most of the time, they'd study but they also just end up talking about random things. For example, tonight they were talking about how ridiculous the other Marauders were during the sixth-year's Potions class, with the colored smoke-bombs all over everybody's faces.

Lily lightly blamed Polly for the prankster's behaviour but Polly only beamed, feeling proud. Remus, being detention-free unlike the James and Sirius, rolled his eyes in amusement. "You should have seen Professor Slughorn's face," he said.

"I bet he wasn't pleased," Polly said with a smirk.

Lily shook her head with a huff, "No, he definitely was not."

Polly stuffed her face into a book to stifle her laugh as she imagined the old professor, with wide eyes, an ajar mouth, and an appalled expression, vibrantly colored powders tinting his wrinkly face.

"And not to mention poor old Avery," Lily added, making Polly burst out laughing.

Remus quickly shushed her, "And I thought you gave James a talk about not pranking people who don't deserve it."

"Well, he did deserve it," muttered Polly. With the look Remus, gave her she put down the book she was holding. "Just saying," she raised her hands in surrender. "That time with the bees, he used a dangerous and unstable spell that I made up. That was different."

Remus sighed in defeat, "I sometimes forget you're Sirius' sister."

"You should have written a warning sign in that notebook of yours," Lily commented, shaking her head. Polly contested that it would have only intrigue the Marauders even more. Soon it turned into another one of their little debates.

The werewolf shook his head at the two arguing girls. Looking around the almost empty library, his eyes drifted to the windows where he saw the almost full moon. He sighed and rested his head on the table with a groan.

"You okay, Remus?" Polly asked, stopping her small argument with Lily.

"Is it the full moon?" Lily softly inquired.

Polly had found out that Lily, too, knew of Remus' 'furry little problem' when the three first hung out, a little after the last full moon. Lily had found Remus attempting to hurt himself in Myrtle's bathroom about a year ago. It wasn't pretty.

"I feel it," Remus whimpered, "inside me..." He looked up at Polly and she looked back with understanding. "I'm so not looking forward to tomorrow night."

"We'll be here for you, Remus." The red head took his slightly scarred hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Yeah, here..." Polly sighed in disappointment. Staying in the castle when her friends are hurting outside didn't sit well with her. Then suddenly, she was jumping on her seat.

"What?"

"I could come help," she suggested with hopes that the werewolf would approve. Obviously not.

"No," he replied sharply. Now sitting up, he stared her down. "Don't even think about sneaking out into the Forbidden Forest again, Polaris. Especially, during the full moon."

Sensing the tension between the two, Lily quickly pulled out her Defense book and started talking about a random topic to Polly. Just to take Polly's mind out of the thought of going back to the Forbidden Forest. The Slytherin would always bring it up during their conversations hoping to change the Gryffindor boy's mind. Obviously, it would always end with the uncomfortable silence Lily is tasked to break.

Talking her out of it never works though. Polaris Black is going out again tomorrow night, during the full moon.

=O=

It was the night of the 4th of February. Polly sat at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, fiddling with the necklace James gave her. The full moon had risen and she heard multiple times a series of howls.

"Oh, Remus," she frowned, thinking about the pain her friend must be going through at that very moment. The same boy she was laughing with a day ago in the library was out there somewhere howling in pain.

She had promised James multiple times that she will keep away from them. So, there she was, swinging her legs, sitting on a thick branch of a tree, staring at the full moon by the other end of the forest.

For some reason, her hands were shaking uncontrollably. She had tried to light a small fire for herself with her powers but it almost got out of control, even more that usual. The werewolf scratch must have affected her elemental powers after all. She tried with the other elements but her raging emotions made it impossible to control them as well. After dinner, she found her emotions really rising up aggressively. She had yelled at Tori, who was only being concerned for her moodiness.

She tried again to make the tree she was on to grow taller. She placed her hands onto its bark and closed her eyes. In a few seconds, nothing happened. Frustrated, she growled then slammed her fist into the tree. The ground suddenly shook violently.

Polly lost her footing and fell to the ground from the tree. Unfortunately landing on her butt. She groan in pain. She looked at her shaking hands then groaned again in dismay. She push herself up and when to sit by the tree instead.

She had planned on waiting for the full moon to end to help Remus and the other Marauders after then. Thinking about the endangered stag animagus who was helping the werewolf only heightened her anxiety.

Her troubled thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud hoot. Polly jumped away from the small figure on the branch she was sitting on a few moments ago. The dark owl swooped down to her and carelessly dropped an envelope in front of her. It quickly disappeared into the night.

"Bloody bird," grumbled Polly, taking the letter from the ground.

Her mood suddenly brightened a bit from the letter.

=O=

I need to talk to you.

Meet me at Hogsmeade tonight.

Try not to get caught.

~A. Nott

=O=

Alexander was at Hogsmeade. 'And he needed to talk to me,' Polly thought in delight. She had always liked talking with her childhood friend. It was slightly suspicious for him to be asking her to sneak out. It must be really important.

She quickly bolted from her place and ran back towards the empty Slytherin Common Room. She chucked the note to the fire place, to get rid of any evidence of her sneaking out, and snatched the coat she had forgotten to get earlier. She then ran to the entrance of the secret passage way Sirius had shown her a few weeks back that leads out of school.

In her excitement, she almost forgot about the Marauders and Remus. She wanted to turn back and wait of them but the selfish part of her was saying that they could talk care of themselves.

She casted a quick Disillusionment Charm just in case someone looked her way. Thankfully, her magic was unaffected by the full moon.

When Polly finally reached Hogsmeade, it looked completely deserted. No one was there. Perhaps it was a mistake coming there. 'It's stupid of me to not think before-' her thought was cut off when a hand suddenly grabbed her from behind.

A scream was at her lips, her right fist ready to strike, when the stranger quickly covered her mouth with his hand. "Shhh! You'll get us caught."

The elemental sighed in relief, recognizing the voice.

"You scared me to death, Xander," she said, punching him hardly on the shoulder making him let go of her arm. "For a second, I thought it was a trap."

He chuckled, "Sorry. Don't you normally just sense when someone is around you?"

Polly looked away. "What?" Alex asked, concerned. When she didn't reply, he took her hand and pulled her closer. They started walking slowly away from the town, towards the forest.

"My powers have been acting strangely, that's all," said Polly, looping her arms into his, like they used to do as children in the massive gardens at Nott Manor.

Polly was anxious. She looked at the full moon. She didn't want to be seen out of school grounds. But it suddenly felt fun to be rebellious. "Anyway, what are you still doing here? I thought you'd be back at America by now. You'd miss you're last year at school."

Alexander chuckled. "Xander?" Still, he did not reply. Polly started to get worried.

"I thought I told you before to not call me that," he finally spoke when they reached the shadows of the trees of the forest. Polly smiled and gave him a little nudge.

"What's this all about, Xander?" she began to prod. "Is everything alright?" She stopped walking and turned to her friend, who was being uncharacteristically nervous.

He was looking at her necklace, the one James had given her a month ago. "Alex?" His eyes snapped back to her. "Oh, yes. I almost forgot. I -um," he took something from his pocket, "-I have a gift for you. Here."

A silver bracelet shone in the moonlight. "Let me put it on," he said taking her left hand and putting the clasps together. Polly took a step back to look at it better in the light. Alex rubbed his neck anxiously. "Do you like it?"

"Oh, Alex, I love it!" she exclaimed. The bracelet had 7 shining gems embedded into it to form and represent the constellation Ursa Minor. One of the gems were shone brighter than the rest. Polaris. She softly traced her finger across the pattern, admiring the handiwork. It was obviously made with magic.

"Thank you, Alex. It's beautiful. But what's it for? It's too late for a Christmas gift. And too early for Valentines," she teased.

Alex looked away with a blush. "What? Is it bad if I want to give my friend a gift?"

Polly stared at her childhood friend and was met with an weird expression on his face. It almost felt like he was not only embarrassed but also guilty. But she shook it off.

She rolled her eyes then kissed his cheek, "Thanks anyway."

They started walking again. Every step took them deeper into the forest. Alex bit his lip nervously. "To answer your previous question, I'm not going back to America." Polly looked at him with surprise. "I'm actually staying here."

"You're moving back?" Polly's smile widened. "I thought your trip here was only for a visit?"

"Yeah, well. I had a reason to stay," he replied with an unreadable expression. His lips pressed into a tight smile.

Polly's brows furrowed in confusion.

He continued, "I begged my father to send me back here. I tried it before but he'd never listen. One night, he presented me an offer. And I accepted it." He looked at her with piercing eyes. "For you, really. And I payed the price." He chuckled bitterly.

"What price?" Polly asked. Her heart beating furiously.

She heard a twig snap. Her eyes darted around. Another snap. Several hooded figured suddenly appeared all around the them. Surrounding them.

"Death Eaters. We have to go," she whispered. She tugged at him towards the town but he was frozen in place. "Alex we have to run."

"I'm... so sorry, Polaris." He kept her in place. His hold on their looped arms tightened. He didn't look at her but Polly felt shame radiating off him.

"What? Alex? What are you doing?" Polly panicked, struggling against his hold. Her 'trusted' friend promptly handed her to two of the Death Eaters. He then took her wand from her pocket. "You're just going to let them take me?!" His had his back to her. Not wanting to look her in the eyes, pained from betrayal.

She tried to shove away the ones holding her but failed. "Alex?!" He finally turns back with his sleeves rolled up. Polly didn't want to believe it. Her best friend should not have his arm tainted with a mark pledging his allegiance to a madman.

But the dark mark on his forearm seemed to mock her. Alex avoided her angry gaze. "Alex, you traitor! I thought you were my friend! You sold me to him!" He flinched at the harshness of her words.

'This is a nice place to lose control,' she thought darkly. 'Fire. I need fire. It's time to torch this whole place down.' She reached into herself. Something was wrong. There was nothing there. 'Fire!' Not even a flicker.

Her arms were outstretch but none of the elements responded. Her eyes landed on the bracelet on her hand. "You son of a-" she was cut of when the Death Eaters suddenly side-along apparated her away. Only a single howl was heard in the dead of the night.


	19. Chp 18 : His Promise

*Flashback*

Polaris and Alexander had been friends since before they could remember. He was the only child ever to grow up with the unknown child of Black. His mother, Mrs. Nott, had always been friends with Amelia Pitch and had suggested to let Polly have another kid to play with. Let's just say when Walburga Black found out Amelia had told about her elemental daughter, thing's weren't pretty. That was when she made Amelia do the Unbreakable Vow, which only broke the second she died..

It had always been Polly and Alex. Alex and Polly. Like Polly, Alex was home-schooled with Amelia for his magic. But on Regulus' 3rd year's Christmas break, he joined Polly and Alex in Nott Manor.

The trio was sprawled all over the floor in one of the living rooms of the manor. The fire was crackling by their side to counter the cold from the snow outside as they played chess. Not wizards chess, since they preferred moving the pieces by hand.

"You're cheating," Polly deadpanned. She was losing so bad to her friend, who was too good for his own good.

Alex chuckled, "No, I'm not." Polly looks at Regulus for confirmation. "He's not," he said, shaking his head. "Just admit it Polly. You suck." He nudge her lightly.

Polly nudged him back, only harder. Possibly making a bruise. "Hey!" Regulus exclaimed.

"I feel like you're cheating... somehow," she said, ignoring her brother. She looked from Alex then to the board with a bitter expression.

Alex rolled his eyes. "That's just the feeling of losing, Polaris." He playfully stuck his tongue out at her. "Plus, the chance of beating me is very slim."

Polly narrowed her eyes once more before giving a sigh of defeat, "Touché." She looked at the board again then leaned to Regulus. She whispers, "Hey, I can move the bishop there, right?" Pointing at her lone bishop.

The Slytherin contemplated for a second and replied, "Uhh... yeah, sure."

Polaris took a deep breath. 'Okay," she said, trusting her brother. After moving her piece, Alex sighed deeply and looked up at Polly with a smirk. Without taking his eyes off her, he moved his queen and knocks down bishop and, at the same time, almost traps the king completely. "Check," he called out.

Polly gasped. "Reg!" she turned to him with an accusing glare. How dare her laugh at her?

"You only asked if you could move it there," he said, his hand up as mocking innocence. "And you could." True enough.

The elemental moves her king with a pout. "Come on, Polaris! I was already going easy on you." After a few more moves, Alex had trapped her king, "Checkmate," he called, with a smug expression.

Polly, on the other hand, just stares at her toppled king. She blows a loose strand of hair out of her face and sighed deeply, "Well, that sucks. I hate chess anyway. Can't we play Games of the General next?"

"The muggle board game?" Regulus asked incredulously. "Do we even have that?"

The older boy shook his head. Lord Nott would never have any other game, much less a muggle board game, in their house other than chess. He had brought his son up to be the best in the game. Hence, Polly and Regulus, being more than decent players, losing to the great tactician.

The young girl groaned. "I forgot to bring mine," she sighed.

"If Mother found out you own a muggle boa-"

Polly cuts him off, "She won't, she rolls her eyes at him. "Besides, if she does, you're my only suspect."

"I told you I wouldn't! Don't forget, I grew up with Sirius. If I didn't cover up for him as much as I had before, I doubt he'd still be breathing today," Regulus defended. He almost regretted saying anything at all since Alex started to ask questions.

Alex smirked, "Ohhh, do tell."

Regulus bit his lip nervously. "Did you know he's gay?" he said, slowly.

"He is?!?!" exclaimed Polly. Her eyes widened in shock. She didn't feel comfortable about it at that moment. And boys liking boys was still a foreign thing to see or hear about.

Her brother shrugged, "Well, he might be bisexual. He's not really ashamed of snogging anyone in front of the whole school. And who knows what's going on in the idiot's head?"

"James Potter?" Alex suggested only to be glared down by the twins. Alex and Polly knew about his jealousy of Sirius even though he won't admit it.

Seeing their intense glares, he swerve to change topic. He picked up the his white king and Polly's black queen pieces and placed them side by side. "You know, they say it usually runs in the family. What about you, Regulus?" He had a smug grin on his face. He leaned ever so closely to the other boy, their faces were less than inch apart. One could even feel the hot breath of the other. The younger boy's breath hitched. Alex whispered softly, "Are you attracted to boys?"

Regulus' cheeks flared. Alex was too close. He couldn't help but admit that his face was handsome for a 15 yr old boy. Reg quickly caught himself and pushed Alex away, "Sod off, Nott!" He was sure anyway that he wasn't Alex's type.

Polly bit her lip. She too was blushing, feeling uncomfortable with Alex's actions.

"Well," Alex shrugs. "I hope it doesn't run in the whole family." He looked at Polly meaningfully. The young girl who looked away earlier didn't see it. She was rearranging the chess pieces once again. But Regulus did and smiled after gaining back his composure.

'Oh sister, could you get any more oblivious?' he thought, amused at how Alex would look at his sister.

He looked at his invisible watch, "Oh look! It's already time for me to go home." He stands up and dusts off some of the chimney ashes the from his clothes. "Thanks for having me, Alexander." He nods. "Tomorrow, okay, Polly?"

"Oh sure! See you tomorrow," she hugged her twin one last time and kissed his cheek, "Bye Reggie!"

"Goodbye Regulus!" Alex called out as the Slytherin flooed away. "So?" he said turning to his childhood friend.

"So?" replied Polly, amused.

He look outside for a moment. His eyes brightened at the sight of the soft, white snow. "Would you like to go out into the garden?" He picked up their coats and handed Polly hers.

"Right now?" She took her coat from his outstretched arm and put in on uncertainly. It seems that she's not even given a choice to stay inside at all. "Uh, sure."

=O=

As they stepped outside, Alexander takes Polly's hand casually and intertwines them. The young girl blushed. They have been friends for years yet being a teenager seemed to change that, even though by just a tiny, tiny bit. He excitedly led her through the snow covered garden.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked, mistaking her red cheeks as cold.

"I'm fine. You?" she replied, tightening her coat around her. She would have made a small flame to warm herself but she can't risk it, especially outside the Pitch's house.

Alex quickly thought of something. His best friend was obviously shivering. What better way to escape the cold than playing a game? "Oh look what's this?" he said, letting go of her hand then bending down as if to observe something.

Seeing nothing at all, Polly began to worry. "What's what?"

"This!" he pointed at an imaginary object.

"I don't see-" the elemental started, only to get cut off by snow being thrown right at her rosy face. Alex had thrown a large scoop of snow leaving the other stunned.

Polaris gasped in shock. Quickly gaining composure, she glared at her companion, "Oh, you're gonna pay for that Nott!!" Using her elemental powers, she raised a load of humongous snowballs. 'Snow is water. And water is mine to control,' she thought gleefully.

Alex quickly took a step back. "Blimey! I forgot about that!!" he exclaimed. He took another step away. And soon, he started running away, laughing in horror, "AAAAHHHH!!!!"

Polly threw dozens of snowball towards him. Three hit him spot on making him tumble but not fall. "Please!" he called out, "I only did it to cheer you up!"

The 13-year-old scoffed, "Cheer me up?!"

"You sucked at chess!" he laughed, turning around the corner of the garden. He was quickly heading to hide behind the big white rose bushes.

By his claim, Polly sped up unbelievably fast. "Why, you little-" Before Alexander could hide, she pounced at him, jumping on his back. They both fall down, rolling around the cold, wet snow.

For a few minutes, they were both on their backs laughing their heads off. Trying to calm themselves down.

Once they finally did, Polly sighed and turned to Alex. "Were you just playing with Reggie earlier?" she questioned.

Alex scoffs. Yet he smiled inwardly, thinking that Polaris was such a Slytherin, even though she could be sweet enough to be a Hufflepuff. She was going to play it off by starting to ask a question then play around the topic for a bit until he would mention the question she was going to ask in the first place. If the question was uncomfortably offensive, then that would be on him not on her.

He already knew how she played. So today, he went directly to the point. "Are you trying to ask me if I'm gay?" Polly rolls eyes yet nods anyway.

Alex turned away from her then looked up to the clouds above them. He stayed silent for a while before slowly saying, "No."

Polly giggled then threw a handful of snow at his direction. "Took you long enough to answer."

"You're worried that I am?" he asked. He wasn't smirking or even smiling at all now. He had an unreadable expression on his face.

"Of course not!" Polly denied. "I was just... curious."

"Well..." he sighed. "I prefer girls. One girl in particular. I'm still waiting for her to be of age. Though, I might have snogged a boy once," he added with a wistful expression.

Being an innocent and uninfluenced child, Polly winced a bit, feeling uncomfortable.

Seeing her reaction, Alex sits up and leans on his elbow to face her. "Don't forget I'm older than you, Polaris. I have more experience." He winked and Polly wanted to punch him so bad.

"To much information!!" she blushed. Sitting up as well, Polly sighs while turning to him. "I'm really gonna miss you when you go to America."

"Me too," he said, looking down, "I'll come back. I will, somehow. I promise." He took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Polaris pursed her lips. She was staring to tear up but one of the few of her Mother's lectures reminded her that a Black does not cry. So she didn't . She turns over again. But now she lays on her stomach and elbows.

Alexander had lost his mother a month or two ago through an ambush attack in Diagon Alley. His father may not have taken it well, so he's shipping himself and his only son off to another continent. For a new start. Away from a slowly brewing war. Making his son leave his closest friend in isolation.

"Xander, you're my only friend. Soon, Reggie will be going off to Hogwarts again. It'll be so lonely."

"I'll send you letters," he promised.

Polly groaned in sorrow, "You're not allowed. Remember? Secret address and all that."

They never were allowed to send letters to each other. Amelia Pitch's house must remain as a secret, warded safe place for two of the most powerful elementals in Great Britain.

"Ms. Pitch still sneaks you out though," he reminded her. "So much for being a secret."

The child of Black chuckled softly. "Yeah. She's so daring. I sometimes wish I could be as brave as her."

"Polaris Irma Black," he said suddenly. Polly furrowed her eyebrows at him. Hearing him, or anyone else for than matter, saying her name is always weird.

He continued, while looking at her in the eyes, "Even when I'm far away-"

"Out of Europe, you mean?" she cut off but was ignored.

"I'll always be there." Polly blushed when he slowly tucks a stray hair behind ear. He whispered, "I will keep your secret safe... And pledge my undying loyalty to you."

"Don't say that," Polly nudged at him playfully.

"To keep you safe, Polaris," he said, his usual playful self replaced by a someone more mature. He lifted her chin to make her look at him. "I promise, as long as I'm alive and kicking, I would never let anything bad happen to you. Ever."

*End of Flashback*

=O=

Polaris felt the familiar yet uneasy feeling in her stomach as she, along with a dozen of Death Eaters and her so-called 'friend', arrived at the familiar living room of Malfoy Manor.

She ignored her dizziness and urge to puke. All she could feel was rage. "You better have a good reason, Nott, or I might strangle you!!" She tried to lunge at him but the two Death Eaters held her back.

Alexander wasn't his usual cheery self at all. He looked tired and depressed. He sighed. "This isn't personal, Polly." His cold, steady voice almost frightened Polly. "Well, it is. But I just had to win against Potter."

This confused Polly. What fight does he have James?

"For James? Look, Alexander." Her voice was even colder than his. It was sharp when she said his name. "I know you don't like him but-"

"No," he cut her off with a dark chuckle. "No. Hate," he corrected, "I hate him! I hate everything about him."

"What? why?" Polly asked in disbelief.

"I thought you'd choose me!" Alex suddenly shouted. The others around them only watch them in plain interest. He started to pace around.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm the one who's always been there for you, okay?" he replied. He sounded pained. Polly stood still. Frozen in contemplation and confusion. "When we were young," he continued, "I made it my job to make you happy every single day. And I thought you'd be glad when I came back." A wistful look passed his face, he was remembering their last encounters two years ago. They parted in such good terms. He turned away from her, his expression suddenly darkening.

"Father made me join them," he gestured to the Death Eaters, "just to stay here with you. Yet you chose Potter as your future fiance and husband over me. As your lover over me. Can't you see, Polly?!" he said, getting frustrated, "I'm in love with you!"

Polly had to urge to hug him, with his pained expression and teary eyes, but remembering her situation at the moment, she bit her lip hard to prevent herself from crying.

"And it's clear that you don't love me," he added, his voice cracking.

'Not like that,' Polly thought, 'Not anymore.' She didn't know what to say. She didn't think choosing James over Alex would have affected him that much. But then again, she was completely unaware of how deep his feelings was for her.

"He- He doesn't deserve you," he whispered.

And in the Slytherin's mind, a small voice countered, 'And you do?' She wanted to say it aloud as well but she knew it would only make it worse. "Ale-"

"Don't," he puts his hand up, backing away. "Don't make this any harder, Polaris." He turned to face the large door of the room.

They all felt it before he entered. A pulsing energy. A jolt of power. The one who entered the room was obviously skilled and naturally gifted with magic.

Tom Marvolo Riddle, widely known as Voldemort, walked in with Bellatrix. All the Death Eaters bowed. The two holding Polly made her bow down with them, much to her protest and displeasure.

"Well done, Alexander," the Dark Lord said. "I will keep my promise. I will take good care of her. And soon, you may even have her as your own." Polly could see that he manipulates people by offering them what they wanted. But she wasn't brave enough to stay up to him.

"Thank you, My Lord," Polly's idiot 'friend' bows, emotionless, unlike a moment ago.

"Alex! Please!! You promised!" she called out. He avoided her gaze and looked away from his Lord as well.

Only now that Polly sees Bellatrix, she panicked even more. Finally losing her cool. "Bella? Bellatrix! Please help me! I don't want to join him!" The two who were holding her let her drop to the floor whimpering, even though she was trying to look courageous.

Bellatrix bit her lip. "She's my cousin, My Lord. I will talk to her. Make her see sense."

The red-eyed wizard looks at Polly with piercing eyes, making her shut up. Instead, she was pulling at the bracelet Alex had given her a few minutes ago. It was obviously annoying her. 'Stupid,' she scolded in her mind, 'stupid, stupid.'

"You won't be able to take that off," he said to her, a-matter-of-factly. "Only the creator can disable its enchantments. You can thank your friend here, for that." Alex bowed his head, either of respect to the Dark Lord or of shame to Polaris.

Polly swiftly stood up and glared at him, only to be pushed down again. She gritted her teeth, "He's not my friend."

Voldemort looked at her again in interest before turning to the older child of Black, "Very well, Bellatrix. In the mean time, make her feel... comfortable." He turned away then apparated flawlessly, in one fluid motion.

Bellatrix became more confident the second he left. Probably because she was in command now.

She went over to Alex and mock whispers, "Love 'does' make you do crazy things." She smirked with an evil cackle. She sashayed to her cousin, who kept pulling her beautifully designed cuff. Roughly pulling her up and shoving her into a nearby guest room.

Alex saw Bellatrix hissed into his ex-friend's ear. Something about everything being less painful if she had come voluntarily. The door slammed close and the other Death Eaters turned to go. Leaving Alexander to his thoughts.

He was struggling to breath evenly. Trying to not let the tears flow. He could do nothing but let the guilt sink in. "What have I done?"


	20. Chp 19 : And Then There Were Seven

Regulus Black has been known to be calm even in stressful occasions. He would think things through and make them work out as neat as possible. He's also skilled in keeping his emotions in check. That is... unless you count the times his sister does something that gets herself in big trouble.

"I haven't seen her all day," he said, looking around every corner of the castle. His hastened steps made it tiring for Barty to follow him around. Especially since they've been running around Hogwarts for the whole afternoon. "And I have the strangest feeling that something is wrong," he added.

"Reggie, you need to calm down," Barty panted as he sprinted after his older yet smaller friend. "We've looked everywhere."

"That's the point," Regulus called back. "We've looked everywhere but she's nowhere to be found." He turned back and faced Barty, who almost bumped into him when he came to a sudden stop.

"I told you, if something happened to her I'm gonna-" he stops, looking ahead with a murderous expression. Before Barty could even turn around to look who was behind him, Regulus pushes pass him quicker than a lightning bolt and dashed towards the group that contained James Potter and his friends.

The Marauders just got back from the Hospital Wing after fetching Remus who just healed up from last night's escapade. They've been quite cheerful since the werewolf was much less rabid than before, even though they still gained a few scratches and bruises here and there.

James was laughing at something his best mate said but he didn't expect to suddenly get pushed back into the wall by a smaller figure.

"Potter! Where the fuck is my sister?!" Regulus hissed. He tried to hit him only to get pulled back by Barty and Sirius. Barty continued hold him back, where as Sirius quickly went between his best mate and his brother to keep them from lunging at each other.

"What?" James asked incredulously, pushing off from the wall.

"Don't act stupid," Regulus sneered. His gazed met the sandy haired boy. Remus shook his head at him. "It's the bloody full moon again and she's missing. Where are you hiding her?"

"We're not hiding her, Reggie. Calm down," Sirius said, using the comforting voice he used to use when they were younger. It was such a foreign gesture but it did the trick. "Now, tell us what happened." Sirius approached his brother slowly, concerned by the boy's claims.

He placed a comforting arm around the younger boy. Regulus melts into him a bit before quickly gaining his senses and shoving him away.

Barty followed Regulus as he backed into the far corner of the corridor. Away from any passerby's view. Sirius followed closely. When Regulus saw Sirius follow him, he shook his head with a sigh, he knew the other Marauders would follow him as well.

"She's been gone for a day now," he said softly. He was even trembling a bit. He looked up to see the others looking at him concerned.

Remus quickly interrupts him. "Actually, Regulus, there is something I have to tell you."

"Wait," Barty said. He quickly casted 'Muffliato' around them.

Remus looked at him curiously. "I've seen Polly use that charm before," he reminisced.

"Severus made it up. It's so that no one could hear whatever we're saying," Regulus quickly explained, "Now, what is it you have to tell me, Lupin?"

Remus bit his lip. Polly had told him to not say anything but things have changed. After a moment of silence he started to tell them what she told him when they first talked. Voldemort had wanted to recruit her and be a Death Eater. And that instead of murder, Amelia Pitch had killed herself to avoid that exact fate.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Regulus wasn't at all angry at Remus for knowing things about his sister that he didn't know but it pained him a bit. Especially hearing about how the best mother figure he had had killed herself, leaving his sister to face the same problem she was having.

"She didn't want to worry you," Remus said. He looked between the two Black brothers. "Both of you."

"She's not in the map," James sighed, folding up Marauder's Map. He started looking into it the moment the six of them huddled up into the corner. He started panicking even before then. 'Where are you, Polly Bear?' he thought.

"Map? What map?" Barty asked, the parchment in James' hand seemed to pique his interest.

"Not now, Barty," Regulus whispered to him, pulling him closer by the arm.

"Uhm, guys?" Peter finally spoke up. He pointed across the hallway to a black caped figure frantically looking around, a piece of paper in his hand. "It's Snape."

When Severus finally saw them, he rushed up to them, ignoring the Marauders and pushing his way to his own friends. After fixing up his 'Muffliato' charm and taking a deep breath, he showed them the small parchment in his hand. It was slightly burnt on the edges.

"I found it by the fireplace," he explained. "Polly must have thrown it in in a hurry." It was Alex's letter telling her to sneak out.

Sirius sees the letters 'A.N.' signed at the bottom and was confused. "Anonymous Note-sender?" he guessed.

"Nott," groaned Regulus. He pushed the letter to Barty angrily.

"Woah, easy there, Cub," he said catching the crumpled paper. At his comment, Sirius narrows his eyes at him. I mean, who would call his own younger brother 'Cub'? He sighed and let it go for now.

Barty reread the note and continued to say, "Why would he need to get her to Hogsmeade? He could have just visited her here."

"He's one of them," Sirius quickly concluded.

"One of who?" Peter squeaked in fear.

"He's a Death Eater," Severus confirmed, nodding his head to Sirius.

"Does Parkinson and Snow know about this?" Remus asked, thinking of the Slytherins' other friends.

"I think they're planing on joining as well," Severus replied. "Or they already are." He shrugged his shoulders.

James looked pointedly at him. "And you Snape?" he challenged.

"They wouldn't accept me anyway. Since I'm a half-blood," sensing that it wasn't a good enough answer he continued, "They mess with Polly, they mess with me. I'll never join him ever."

"Okay big guy," Barty smirked at his friend and patted him on the back. Severus rolled his eyes and playfully shoved him away.

"Wait. So you planned on joining him?" James pushed on, making the others groan.

"Grow up, Potter" Severus said the same time as Remus said, "Stand down, Prongs."

The raven-haired boy sighed in defeat, "So, what are we going to do then?"

"We don't even know where she is," Sirius said while pulling at his hair. "It's hopeless!" He looked around the circle feeling a grim tension between each of them.

"I think I do," Remus suddenly spoke up. The others turned to him in anticipation. "The Malfoys."

"What makes you say than, Moony?" James asked.

"Polly mentioned Lucius Malfoy being so desperate to get her to come to their Christmas ball," he explained.

"Good thing we planned a sleepover right?" Barty grinned but ended up as a grimace. He shook his head and looked at Regulus.

"So, Voldemort must be residing there too," Regulus concluded, nodding his head in understanding to the werewolf.

Peter squeaked at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. "It's just a name, Wormy" James said to him. "But w-we can't move against 'h-him'. He'll easily k-kill us off when we do..." he countered.

Regulus sharply turns to him with an unreadable expression. "Hey," Barty called to him softly, hoping his best mate wouldn't pounce at the poor guy in front of his friends.

Regulus raised his hands in surrender and backed of slightly. "Look Pettigrew," he breathed out. His voice slowly increases in volume. "We need you to be brave, okay? Be the bloody Gryffindor you are. We need to save my sister. So, we can't afford to let you weigh us down. You can't be a spineless sa-" He stepped closer towards him dangerously close. Sirius cut him off by pulling him back softly. Regulus lets his older brother place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

He sighed. "It's either help us or stay out of the way," Regulus said, looking at the shaking Gryffindor being comforted by Remus.

"O-okay," Peter stuttered back, trying to look brave.

Remus didn't waste time after that. He gave Peter one last pat in the back before stepping up. "We have to work together then." The others nodded. "Then, let's go talk to Dumbledore," he said.

"He'll know what to do," Sirius agreed with the werewolf. Without letting the Slytherins object, he quickly led them to the Gargoyle Corridor leading to the Headmaster's office.

The three Slytherin boys did not look pleased at all as they followed the Marauders. They wanted to protest against the other group's plan. They did not want Dumbledore's help.

And it started to piss them off when other students of every house started to whisper behind their back as they walked through the halls. They were truly a weird bunch. A group of Slytherins hanging out with a group of Gryffindors would really be an extremely rare occurrence.

"How do you even know about Percy and Victoria, Sev?" Barty asked, trying to think of things to talk about as they walked.

Before Severus could reply that they tried convincing him to join too, Regulus says, "Yeah and how many secrets are there between the Renegades?"

Regulus shook his head in disbelief. Their so-called group is quickly falling apart. He almost believed it when they all promised each other to avoid keeping secrets from one another. But what else can you expect when cunning and self-preservative Slytherins are your friends?

"Renegades? Really?" Sirius and James scoffs. "That's cute." Sirius and James nudged at each other chuckling slightly. Remus and Peter smiling a bit behind them.

"Yeah, we really need to change our name," Severus rubbed his temple, quickening his pace. He was embarrassed, to say the least. Not because of the name but because the Marauders knew about how they named their own group.

"I have something in mind," Regulus smiled, "But I'll need Polly's confirmation first."

"Then we have to get her back as soon as possible," James replied. He awkwardly pats Regulus in the back. Only to make Sirius start laughing at his two brothers being adorable with each other.

Remus shook his head. He looked around the group. Four Gryffindors working along side three Slytherins? 'Now that's something you don't see everyday,' he thought with a smile.

One girl had cared for everyone and then there were seven who were ready to risk their lives to get her back. To get back the spark that burned down the barriers between prejudice and pride. Polaris Black made them one and now they need her to make them whole once again.

=O=

Author's Note

Hi, guys! So, I really need your help. I can't think of a new group name for the four Slytherins (Polly, Reggie, Barty, and Sev). Please leave your suggestions. Thank you so much for reading.


	21. Chp 20 : Trapped

It felt like it must have been a day, or, actually, maybe it was just a few hours. Polaris stared up at the ceiling feeling boredom and dread take over. Probably more on the boredom part but not being able to use her powers suck as well.

In the guestroom Bellatrix dragged her in, it was plain and dull. All she could do for entertainment is to imagine 'what if'. Knowing that that may drive her into madness, she settled in counting in the different languages she knew up until she forgot or messes up. "Isa, dalawa, tatlo, apat, lima, anim, pito-"

She was cut of by a knock on her door. She sat up from the stuffy bed and stayed still.

"Polaris?" It was Alex. She layed back down without answering back and started to count again. "Un, deux, trois, quartre-"

Alexander, not waiting for a reply after knocking the second time, opened the door with slight difficulty. He came in balancing a big tray that contained various chopped fruits, a bowl of hot soup, and pieces of mouthwatering chicken. A glass of water was also wobbling a bit at the edge of the tray. He bit his lip when Polly avoided his gaze by turning her back on him.

"You should eat," he said. He placed the tray on the empty bed side table. The smell made them her hungry.

Polly stared at the food with a quizzical expression. "That's a bit too much for a prisoner, don't you think?" Her voice was a bit hoarse but was still steely and cold.

"You're not a prisoner here, Polaris," Alex said. He sat beside her and was glad that she didn't move away, even though he knew it was only to now show weakness or fear.

"Right. Of course." Polly smiled bitterly and added, "Because I'm a servant. A slave."

"No," he countered.

"Yes. I am," she said stubbornly, "Or, at least, until he gets me to do his dirty work. Which is 'never', by the way," she crossed her arms as she looked at Alex. She softened her voice, "You are, too. A servant, I mean."

"You don't know what you're saying, Polaris," he looked down to his lap. "You should eat before the food goes cold."

"What happened, Alex?" she inquired. She sat cross-legged across from him, like the times they used to play chess together. "You always wanted to be a leader. Make your own rules. Learn about politics. Change the world. The plans your father wanted-"

"I think my father has different plans for me now," he rapidly cut her off. He was snappy and obviously didn't like talking about his father. "And, we will be changing the world," he added, "even if you don't see it."

"Oh, I see it," she glared. Her gritted teeth was only one of the signs out of many that show her displeasure. "You'll change the world. By tearing it down, brick by brick, column by column, until all that's left id dust."

"Then we'll build a better one," he reasoned.

"The Alex I knew wouldn't say that." She shook her head. She stared at the food he brought her and decided to go for an apple. No use being stubborn because she'll need to strength to fight out of the horrid place.

"Then tell me, O All-knowing Black, what would the Alex you knew do in my position?" his eyes darkened. He was just taunting her and was being sarcastic yet Polly took this as a challenge and an opportunity.

"Help me escape." Alex scoffed. "We promised each other a long time ago to never let the other fall," Polly reminded him. That made him look away. It wasn't true, it was only he who actually made that promise yet he broke it anyway.

"If I do, I'll be setting myself up as a traitor of the cause," he weakly argued. Polly scoffed and rolled her eyes internally, 'Yeah right, the cause or whatever blah blah blah.'

"If you won't, you'll be... what? The renegade of the Renegades?" she hummed in contemplation. "Hmm, that does have a nice ring to it."

"You're asking me to betray him," Alex deadpanned. He was irritated of being reminded of their silly group.

"No." Polly shook her head. "I'm asking you to help me escape." She leaned closer to him. "I'm asking you to redeem yourself," she continued, "This isn't what you want, Alexander."

"How do you know what I want?" he snapped back. He stood up to leave.

"I might forgive you if you help me escape," Polly quickly blurted in a whisper. That made stop in his tracks.

"He'll kill me." At his answer, Polly's blood boiled.

She scowled. "You killed me! The second you dragged me here... you killed me," she finished with a hard tone. He looked back at her, only now did Polly see the dark rings of circles under his eyes. She sighed to calm down. "Please, Alex," she continued, "this is your last chance."

"I'm sorry Polaris," her once childhood friend replied with a regretful tone. He opened the door and took one final look at her.

"I'm sorry too," she said as she looked away. The door closed softly with a 'click' leaving her again in isolation. She listened to his retreating steps and when they were gone, she clicked.

Polly's eyes watered. She was shaking. She screamed in rage. A fire was burning in her gut. She wanted to break everything. She punch the flimsy pillows on the bed. When that didn't make her feel good she threw them furiously across the room.

She stood up and took the glass of water by her bedside and smashed it onto the wall. Shattered glass flew everywhere. Some even managed to make a small nick by her throat and legs. She turned and picked up the steaming bowl of soup and threw that as well, even harder this time. Unfortunately, a great amount of the hot soup had splashed unto her making her yelp in pain. She sank to the floor, hot tears flooding down her face. She pulled down the thick, warm blanket from the bed and just laid there feeling defeated.

Polly sighed deeply, her face flushed, and then closed her eyes. Her hands drifted to the necklace she had on. "Trust," she whispered. James said it symbolized their trust in each other. 'Where has trust gotten me now?' she thought darkly, thinking about the friend she lost to a monster.

=O=

Sirius saw that Regulus was not pleased with the conversation they had with Dumbledore. The Gryffindors left the matters in their Headmaster's hands. As expected. The frowns on the Slytherins' faces were evident when the two groups departed to their own common rooms.

"We need to do something," James said as they settled down unto the sofas in front of the fireplace. It was late and the Common Room was empty.

"We've already talked to Dumbledore," Peter said, biting his lip nervously.

"Yeah. He'll know what to do," Sirius agreed throwing a arm around Remus who was seated by his side.

"I'm not so sure about that. Well actually I-" Remus stopped himself. He shook his head and had a look of contemplation on his lightly scared face. "What I mean is that Polly already told him about Voldemort coming to get her," he said.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" James frowned.

"I didn't understand Polly before but now I... kinda do." Remus reminded them how the old wizard had talked about the matter. It was all 'leaving it up to him'. And 'wait for your orders'. Along with how he makes them feel like they now owes a huge debt to him somehow.

"And Polly doesn't trust him. At least, she doesn't want him being in control of everything," he explained.

"What do you mean?" Sirius laughed uncomfortably, sitting up a bit. "It's Dumbledore. Of course we could trust him."

Remus removed the Sirius' arm from his shoulder, and looked at Sirius accusingly. "Oh, so his soul-piercing blue eyes doesn't scream 'secrets' to you?" He was starting to get sarcastic. And Moony being sarcastic is no funny business.

"Okay lovebirds you can argue later," James rolled his eyes.

"But he's basically the embodiment of good. He can get my sister back. Right, Prongs?" Sirius looks at James for support. The other boy nodded unsurely.

"Uhh, yeah. I m-mean-" James stuttered a bit. He looked at Remus and said, "He can get her back but staying here and doing nothing doesn't settle well with me. We should start looking for her on our own. Dumbledore may help us get her back," he nodded at Sirius, "but that doesn't mean we have to wait for his orders. We're the Marauders for Merlin's sake." He exclaimed the last part and exaggerated it by flailing his arms out wide. "All we need is a plan," he stood to look at each of his friends' determined faces.

"Right," Remus jumps up from his place and joins James. He pats James on the back and turned expectantly to Sirius.

The gray, almost silver, eyed boy ruffled his hair as he was in deep thought. Then after a moment, he was nodding along as well.

"So we need the Slytherins' help?" Peter piped in.

"We need the Slytherins." Sirius confirmed. "Let's go."

James smiled and swung his arms around his best mate and basically dragged them all out of the Gryffindor Common Room.

A redhead had just walked down from dorm to Common Room and heard Peter's and Sirius' statements about needing help from Slytherins and was utterly confused. She shook her head and gave up on trying to understand the wild, care-free Marauders. She should have went after them and gave them all detention for being out after curfew but she didn't. "Boys," she sighed with a smile before going back up to the dorms.

=O=

"Good to know you've finally seen sense," Severus commented when they finally settled down in the Shrieking Shack. It had been difficult to drag the three Slytherins there since the trust between them wasn't really as strong as superglue.

"Oh, shut up, Snape" Sirius bit back. "So, Reg, have you brought it?"

Regulus raised a notebook to show everybody then placed it on the single table in the middle of the room.

"What is this?" James asked curiously, leaning closely.

Barty moved behind Regulus and opened the notebook to a random page. "Wow," he chuckled in amazement.

It was packed with sketches of routes, landmarks, and rooms.They were maps. Actually, it was like a Muggle Atlas, yet this one contained the layout of almost every Pureblood's house or mansion.

Regulus blushed, "I had lots of time to wander during summer."

"Reg likes to draw maps," Sirius explained. 'Like Polly likes to draw any interesting muggle contraption,' James added in his head mournfully.

Sirius continued, "Regulus loves memorizing everything about a place to the littlest cracks on the wall."

"I can speak for myself, Siri," Regulus said. But it made him happy inside to finally getting to talk and spend time with his older brother. He faced the others. "Okay, I may be a bit paranoid."

"A bit? I'd think you were plotting something devious if you weren't my dull best friend," Barty teased.

"Yeah yeah. But," Regulus playfully glare at Barty for interrupting, "I really don't like feeling lost or, more importantly, being lost. It's comforting to know a possible escape path to take, especially when visiting a new place."

Remus grinned when he puzzled it out. "You got the idea of making the Map from him, didn't you?" Sirius shrugged but smiled at his brother, who was rolling his eyes at him.

"These aren't charmed so we won't know who's in or where they're coming from," Sirius pointed out. "It would be difficult to find her."

"Can't you, I don't know, charm these maps to work like the one you have of Hogwarts?" Severus said, his arms folded and his eyebrow raised.

"Snape's right." James said. He ignored the weird looks he was getting. He flipped to the page of the Malfoy Manor and wow it was huge. "Well, come on then. Marauders, it's time to work our magic." He looked at the Slytherins and smirked. "You guys can start planning. I know a Slytherin's mind can be trusted for the best tactics and plans. It's time to save my lady."

=O=

"You know, you used to be my favorite cousin," Polly said to Bellatrix after a house-elf had cleaned up the mess she had made. She felt terrible for the poor elf but her mind was fixed to her wild-haired cousin.

Bellatrix smirked, "Is that so, Little Pib?" She leaned on the post of the bed, while Polly was seated on a chair by the near window.

"Yes," Polly looked up at her, "Only, if you didn't succumb to even the littlest Black madness for blood purity, you might still have even been the crowning pride of the House of Black."

Bella's smirk quickly fell and was replaced with the familiar sneer that indicates she's a little more than a little irritated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"A Black 'never' bows down to anyone," Polly recited. "Yet here you are, the sidekick, the servant, the bitch of your so-called 'Dark Lord'."

The older Black moved in lightning speed and grabbed a fistful of Polly's hair. Polly didn't make any signs of pain other than the slight twitch of her eye. The crazed look in her eyes frightened Polly. But Bellatrix's demeanor and mood immediately changed again. And that always terrified the young girl even more.

Bella cooed and stroked Polly's hair. "He will be your Lord as well," she said, as if it would comfort her.

"Again, a Black never bows to anyone. You should know that. You taught me that yourself. Remember?" Polly's eyes turned pleadingly.

"You will learn more things from me. In the service of Our Lord." Bellatrix smiled in delight.

Polly groaned. "Ugh! Okay I give up." She planned on playing it cool but nope. Not anymore. She stood up shoving her cousin away. "You know what, Trixie? I actually have homework to do. So, if you could kindly show me the exits I'd be on my way." Her voice was dripping in annoyed sass. "I'm sure Mother and Father won't be too pleased with me missing out on school work."

Bellatix cackled at her, "Oh, they won't mind." She waltzed towards the door.

Polly furrowed her brows in confusion. "They know you're here, Pib." At that statement, Polly's eyes watered. In fury, rage, then finally helplessness. How many people she trusted have betrayed her? How many are going to? She started to even think badly of Amelia, the best mother figure in her life, 'Why did you have to leave me alone?'

Bellatrix knocked on the wood of the door to get her attention. "I almost forgot because of your tamper tantrum. I'm actually here to tell you we're relocating."

"Why? The luxuries of Malfoy Manor isn't enough for your Lord?" Polly attempted to rile her up again to mask her own pain.

"No." The curly haired on sneered then frightfully smirked. "Actually, a little friend of yours, or maybe two, overheard Potter and his filthy group of friends talking. They seem to have deduced our location. Now, we really can't have them barging in, can we?"

"So, you're running away? How cowardly," mocked Polly.

"Tell that to your dead elemental teacher." Thud. A heavy feeling rested on Polly's heart as she looked away.

Unbothered by Polaris' reaction, Bellatrix continued, sounding casual. "Anyway, we're moving you to Nott Manor. I do hope you'd be very cooperative. Because if not, when those band of blood-traitors and half-breeds come here to Malfoy Manor and "rescue" you, the only thing they will find is their own deaths."


End file.
